Norbert Novenyi Jr, a rising star in UK MMA, is set to make his return to American soil after a lengthy hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Novenyi Jr has booked his first American fight on the undercard of Bellator 297, where he will face Kamil Oniszczuk in a middleweight bout. The event will take place on June 16 in Chicago, and Novenyi Jr will have a prominent spot on the card, fighting underneath Yoel Romero’s effort at light-heavyweight gold against Vadim Nemkov.
Novenyi Jr, who fights out of the renowned London Shootfighters gym, is famously a teammate of YouTube star KSI, and will be in the corner for KSI’s bout with Joe Fournier at the OVO Arena Wembley on May 13. After that, he’ll travel to America for his second fight of the year, having made a successful comeback in February, stopping Andy Mandolo within a round to bring his record to 6-0.
The Hungarian-born Brit had to take a break from fighting due to the pandemic and missed another two-and-a-half years due to injury after a massive upset victory over hometown hero Will Fleury in Dublin in 2019. Despite the setbacks, Novenyi Jr has established himself as one of the most exciting prospects on the British MMA scene during his run with Bellator.
Coach Alexis Demetriades, who has been training Novenyi Jr, spoke highly of the young fighter’s potential.
“I think he’s undefeated, he’s got an awesome style. He can wrestle, he can do jiu-jitsu to a black belt level and he can punch. So if people aren’t excited about this kid I don’t know what they’re going to be excited about.” Demetriades told Mirror Fighting.
Novenyi Jr is the son of 1980 Olympic gold medalist in wrestling Norbert Sr, and has followed in his father’s footsteps by pursuing a career in combat sports.
Novenyi Jr’s opponent, Kamil Oniszczuk, has a record of 9-2 and is coming off a loss in his Bellator debut against Costello Van Steenis in October 2022. Novenyi Jr will be looking to maintain his undefeated record and make a statement in his American comeback. MMA fans will surely be eagerly anticipating his return to the cage and watching him perform on the big stage at Bellator 297.
Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis added to Bellator 297 fight card
The highly anticipated 205-pound bout between Corey Anderson and Phil Davis has finally been confirmed for Bellator 297 on June 16th at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Despite both fighters having been atop major promotions’ light heavyweight divisions for nearly a decade, they have never crossed paths until now. The bout will air on Showtime as part of the main card, following the preliminaries on MMA Junkie.
Anderson, at 33 years old, is looking to bounce back from a unanimous decision loss to the champion, Vadim Nemkov, in November 2022, at Bellator 288. This bout also doubled as the promotion’s light heavyweight grand prix final, and it was a rematch after Anderson and Nemkov fought at Bellator 277 in April 2022. Unfortunately, the fight was declared a no contest after an inadvertent headbutt caused a cut on Nemkov. Prior to these bouts, Anderson remained undefeated in Bellator with TKO wins over Ryan Bader, Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov, and Melvin Manhoef.
On the other hand, Davis, who is 38 years old, is seeking his third straight victory, entering the fight on a two-fight winning streak that includes impressive victories over Yoel Romero and Julius Anglickas. Davis is a former Bellator light heavyweight champion, and like Anderson, he has only lost to Nemkov in the promotion.
The Bellator 297 lineup now includes two title fights, with champion Vadim Nemkov facing off against Yoel Romero for the light heavyweight title and champion Sergio Pettis facing Patricio Freire for the bantamweight title. The addition of the Anderson-Davis bout only adds to the excitement surrounding this stacked card along with Pole Oniszczuk vs Norbert Novenyi Jr.
