Nemkov vs Romero

Who won Nemkov vs Romero?

Vadim Nemkov beat Yoel Romero by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of Bellator 297, on Friday 16th June 2023 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Vadim Nemkov.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 205 pounds (14.6 stone or 93 KG).

This contest was for the Bellator Light Heavyweight championship.

Nemkov vs Romero stats

Vadim Nemkov stepped into the octagon with a record of 15 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Yoel Romero made his way to the cage with a record of 15 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws, 13 of those wins coming by knock out.

This was Vadim Nemkov's 11th fight in Bellator, having made his debut for the promotion in 2017.

Vadim Nemkov's Bellator record stood at 10-0-0, while Yoel Romero's came in at 3-2-0.

The stats suggested Romero had a large advantage in power over Nemkov, boasting a 87% knock out percentage over Nemkov's 60%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Nemkov had an advantage over Romero, with a 20% submission rate over Romero's 0%.

Vadim Nemkov was the younger man by 16 years, at 32 years old.

Nemkov was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 4 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2013, 3 years and 6 months later than Romero, whose first professional fight was in 2009. He had fought 21 less professional rounds, 47 to Romero's 68.

Nemkov vs Romero form

Vadim Nemkov had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Timothy Johnson at PFL Road to Dubai Champions Series: Nurmagomedov vs. Hughes on 25th January 2025 by submission in the 1st round at Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Previous to that, he had beaten Bruno Henrique Cappelozza at PFL vs. Bellator: CHAMPS on 24th February 2024 by submission in the 2nd round at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Yoel Romero at Bellator 297 on 16th June 2023 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Light Heavyweight championship fight at Wintrust Arena, Chicago, United States.

Before that, he was victorious against Corey Anderson at Bellator 288 on 18th November 2022 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Light Heavyweight championship fight at Wintrust Arena, Chicago.

His fight against Corey Anderson at Bellator 277 on 15th April 2022 ended in a no contest.

Romero had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Thiago Santos at PFL vs. Bellator: CHAMPS on 24th February 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Previous to that, he had lost to Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 297 on 16th June 2023 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Light Heavyweight championship fight at Wintrust Arena, Chicago, United States.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 285 on 23rd September 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at 3Arena Dublin, Dublin, United Kingdom.

Before that, he had defeated Alex Polizzi at Bellator 280 on 6th May 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

He had been beaten by Phil Davis at Bellator 266 on 18th September 2021 by split decision in their 3 round contest at SAP Center, San Jose, United States.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Vadim Nemkov had been fighting more than Yoel Romero.

Going to this contest, Vadim Nemkov had last fought 4 months and 23 days ago, while Yoel Romero's last outing had been 1 year, 3 months and 24 days ago.

Nemkov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 2 months and 2 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 19 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 16 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.2 rounds on average.

Romero's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 8 months and 30 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months. In those fights, he fought a total of 17 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Nemkov vs Romero?

Vadim Nemkov was a 2/13 (-710) favourite going into the contest, while Yoel Romero made his way into the ring at 15/4 (+410) with oddsmakers.