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 as in favor of 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 loses 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 loses and 0 draws, with 13 of those wins by knock out.

The stats suggested Romero had a large advantage in power over Nemkov, boosting at 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 15 years, at 31 years old.

Nemkov was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 4 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2013, 3 year and 6 months later than Romero, whose first professional fight was in 2009. He had fought 21 less professional rounds, 44 to Romero's 65.

Nemkov vs Romero form

Nemkov had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges 3 times.

In his last fight before this contest, he had beat Corey Anderson at Bellator 288 on 18th November 2022 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Light Heavyweight championship fight at Wintrust Arena, Chicago, United States.

Previous to that, he had beat Corey Anderson at Bellator 277 on 15th April 2022 by unanimous decision in the 3rd round at SAP Center, San Jose.

Going into that contest, he had beat Julius Anglickas at Bellator 266 on 16th October 2021 by unanimous decision in the 4th round in their Bellator Light Heavyweight championship fight at Footprint Center, Phoenix.

Before that, he had won against Phil Davis at Bellator 257 on 16th April 2021 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Light Heavyweight championship fight at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

He had beat Ryan Bader at Bellator 244 on 21st August 2020 by knockout in the 2nd round in their Bellator Light Heavyweight championship fight at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Yoel Romero had stopped 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 285 on 23rd September 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at 3Arena Dublin, Dublin, United Kingdom.

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

Going into that contest, 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.

Before that, he had lost to Israel Adesanya at UFC 248 on 7th March 2020 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

He had been beaten by Paulo Costa at UFC 241 on 17th August 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Honda Center, Anaheim.

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 1 year and 5 days ago, while Yoel Romero's last outing had been 1 year and 2 months ago.

Nemkov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 3 months and 2 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 25 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 19 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.8 rounds on average.

Romero's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 3 months and 6 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 7 days. 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.