Bellator 297 Pettis Defeats Freire

Monster Energy’s Sergio Pettis Defeats Patricio “Pitbull” Freire to Defend Bantamweight Championship Title at Bellator 297 in Chicago

Corey Anderson Earns Split Decision Victory Against Phil Davis in Light Heavyweight Bout

Two wins in one night! Monster Energy congratulates Sergio Pettis on defeating Patricio “Pitbull” Freire in the Bantamweight Division Championship fight at Bellator 297 in Chicago, Illinois. In the co-main event bout, the 29-year-old from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, dominated his opponent for five rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory and retain the title.

Monster Energy teammate, 33-year-old Corey Anderson from Rockford, Illinois, also won by a split decision victory against Phil Davis in their Light Heavyweight Division fight on the main card.

With two title fights on the card, BELLATOR 297: Nemkov vs. Romero was showcased in front of a high-energy crowd inside Wintrust Arena in downtown Chicago. The main card was broadcast live on Showtime, and the Monster Energy Prelims streamed live on YouTube.

Monster Energy’s Pettis (23-5) came to Chicago as the defending Bellator Bantamweight Division Champion. Most recently, “The Phenom” defeated Kyoji Horiguchi at Bellator 272 in December 2021.

Pettis’ opponent on Friday night, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (35-6), was looking to make MMA history at Bellator 297. Freire competed as the current Bellator Featherweight Champion and took the fight at Bantamweight in search of a double-division championship. The 35-year-old from Mossoró, Brazil, previously held the Bellator Featherweight and Lightweight Championship titles simultaneously. A win in Chicago would have made Freire the first fighter to become champion in two divisions simultaneously twice.

As the high-stakes fight got underway, Pettis came out with speed and aggression, pressuring Freire with jabs and head kicks. Freire attempted to fire back with heavy punches and landed a takedown in the first round, but Pettis retained the upper hand.

A dramatic scene unfolded when Pettis landed a spinning kick at the end of Round 2, significantly wobbling Freire before the clock ran out. In the following rounds, Pettis connected with quick three-punch combos to his opponent’s head and body. In the championship rounds, Pettis established his dominance by landing the most significant strikes and hurting Freire with brutal body kicks down the middle.

When all was said and done, the judges named Pettis the winner by unanimous decision (49–46, 50–45, 50–45) after five grueling rounds. This marks the second successful title defense for Pettis.

“Bellator, I’m taking out all your poster boys. I think it’s time I get some respect. I’m your guy’s next star, 100 percent!” said Pettis upon retaining his Bantamweight Championship at Bellator 297.

Returning after an 18-month hiatus, Pettis solidified his status as the 135-pound Bellator Champion. For his next fight, Pettis will be facing Patchy Mix, winner of the recent Bellator Bantamweight Grand Prix title.

Also, on the main card, Corey “Overtime” Anderson (17-6) came to Chicago as the top-ranked fighter in the Light Heavyweight division. Most recently, Anderson challenged reigning Light Heavyweight Champion Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 288 in November 2022.

His opponent, 38-year-old Phil Davis (24-7) from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, stepped into the Octagon on a two-fight win streak after defeating Julius Anglickas at Bellator 276 in March 2022. Ranked second in the Light Heavyweight class, Davis was looking to win and earn a title shot for his next fight.

Right from the start, both fighters relied heavily on their grappling, with Davis securing the first takedown. Shifting positions and counterattacking, neither could edge out a significant advantage on the ground or during exchanges on the feet. The second round saw a shift towards more striking, as Anderson managed to land the more decisive strikes in the scrap.

The pace of the fight slowed during the third and final round, Anderson chipping away at Davis’ stamina with jabs and straight punches. While the crowd was hoping for a damaging knockout punch, both fighters showed their fight IQ by evading show-stopping punches until the final bell.

At the end of the very close three-round battle, the judges named Anderson the winner by split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28). Back in the winner’s column, Anderson has set his sights on another attempt at securing the 205-pound division Championship.

“You already know what I want. There’s only one thing I’m here for… We want that strap!” said Anderson at Bellator 297 in Chicago. Stay tuned!

Sergio Pettis, Corey Anderson, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and Phil Davis, count amongst Monster Energy’s elite MMA athletes, along with Aaron Pico, Johnny Eblen, Gaston Bolanos, Valerie Loureda, Kamaru Usman, A.J. McKee, Juan Archuleta, Leah McCourt, Joey Davis, Douglas Lima, Erik Perez, James Gallagher, Austin Vanderford, Jon “Bones” Jones, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal, Chris “The All American” Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Tony Ferguson, Marlon Vera, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Maycee “The Future” Barber, Paulo “The Eraser” Costa, Stipe “Stone Cold” Miocic, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Sean “Suga” O’Malley, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Alex Pereira, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga “Ninja” Chikadze, Johnny Walker, Gilbert Burns, Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev.