The Bellator 288 tournament was interesting for Russian fans with the participation of our mixed martial arts fighter Vadim Nemkov, who defended his light heavyweight title. In the final of the Grand Prix of the promotion, Vadim had a serious test in a rematch with an American fighter who had already crushed his head with a dirty trick.

“Yes, I had problems”

Vadim Nemkov is certainly one of the strongest in all of Bellator right now. Our athlete has been holding the light heavyweight championship belt since mid-2020. During this time, he successfully defended the title twice. Another fight was declared invalid.

In April of this year, the Russian met with the American Corey Anderson. The duel turned out to be difficult for our athlete. According to many experts, following the results of two rounds, Nemkov had serious problems, and it would be difficult for him to win. The American fighter also admitted after this fight that he did not feel the expected resistance from Vadim.

But in the third round, the fight stopped. The American in the stalls, being on top, inflicted an unintentional headbutt on Nemkov. Our fighter had a serious cut, and the fight had to be stopped. As a result, the fight was declared invalid.

This stop caused an uproar among fans of the American fighter. Many argued that he would have brought the fight to victory without any problems, but the Russian did not agree with this.

– I do not think that the previous fight should have ended with Anderson’s victory. There were still two championship rounds ahead. Yes, I had problems, but I am a champion and used to fight five rounds. It is not known how the decisive segments could have formed. Corey was tired too. Hence, probably, the headbutt, – Vadim said before the second fight.

But the results of this confrontation clearly puzzled the Russian fighter. He made adjustments to his training, having worked in the camp with various sparring partners, including Nemkov invited American wrestlers with similar equipment.

Photo: © Bellator MMA

“I am well prepared”

The fighters began the second duel neatly, trying on each other. The American was the first to attack, but Vadim competently dodged his series of blows. Then Corey tried to transfer the fight to the ground, but this attempt was also unsuccessful. But the jabs and side blows of our fighter, who regularly reached the goal, were extremely unpleasant for the opponent. Occasionally, Anderson got it from his foot. 10 seconds before the siren for a break, Nemkov even dropped his opponent with a roundhouse kick.

In the second segment of the fight, our fighter did not wait long and went on the attack from the very first seconds. The American had to completely give the initiative to Vadim. Several times, Corey tried to take the fight to the ground, but it was noticeable how Nemkov competently suppressed all these attempts. At these moments, Anderson looked a little confused. At the end of this round, the American was marked by a dirty action, hitting our fighter in the groin, but the fight continued after a few seconds.

The third segment of Cory began with a takedown attempt, which again turned out to be unsuccessful for a fighter from the USA. Nemkov responded with several accurate jabs that cooled the opponent’s attacking ardor. At the end of the round, the fight had to be stopped again. Vadim’s mouthguard flew out, which Anderson also unintentionally kicked.

Photo: © Louis Grasse / Keystone Press Agency / Global Look Press

In the fourth round, the American, realizing his position, came out extremely motivated. Already in the first minute, he created serious problems for the Russian athlete, hitting his left hand. Anderson even pressed the opponent to the net, but could not extract dividends from this. The fight was also stopped in this segment of the fight – Nemkov again lost his cap. Corey did not like this stop very much, he even struck in the air, simulating a kick on the mouthguard. He could be understood, because he took this round.

Both fighters began the decisive segment actively, exchanging blows, but none of them managed to shock the opponent. The round turned out to be equal, but Nemkov had a more effective ending, inflicting a chic roundhouse kick. As a result of this fight, all three judges unanimously gave preference to our fighter: 48-47; 49-46; 49-46.

After the fight, Nemkov made a loud statement, addressing everyone who did not believe that he could defend the championship title.

— I was well prepared, I had no pitfalls. I developed a high speed, against which he could not do anything. I always win if they don’t believe in me,” Nemkov said.

This title defense was the third successful for the Russian fighter. In addition to the championship title, he also received a solid fee of $1 million.