The fifth Russian champion in Bellator history: how Nemkov knocked out Bader and won the light heavyweight title

On the night of August 22, the Bellator 244 tournament took place in Uncasville (Connecticut), in the main fight of which Vadim Nemkov fought for the light heavyweight title. The Russian athlete was opposed by UFC veteran and reigning Bellator champion Ryan Bader, who knocked out Fedor Emelianenko in 35 seconds a year and a half ago. The pupil of the Last Emperor took a convincing revenge for the defeat of the mentor and became the fifth domestic title holder in the history of the promotion.

Bellator 244 can be safely considered the largest show of the organization at the moment since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. This was due to the presence of a number of promotion stars on the card - the bright heavyweights Valentin Moldavsky and Roy Nelson, ex-featherweight champion Julia Budd, one of the welterweight leaders Yaroslav Amosov, as well as a loud title fight. The meeting between Ryan Bader and Vadim Nemkov promised to be extremely interesting not only in terms of the battle itself, but also in terms of the development of history. The Fedor Team representative was eager to avenge Fedor Emelianenko and did not hide it.

In this regard, fears arose whether Nemkov would burn out before the battle. After all, something similar had already happened to him before. At the 2015 New Year's Rizin tournament, he fought with Jiri Prochazka and was defeated. At the end of the first ten-minute round, the Russian did not feel in the best possible way and decided to give up continuing the fight. As he later admitted, the reason for this was crumpled preparation and excessive zeal in the opening, which did not allow him to correctly distribute his forces.

However, over the next four years, Nemkov radically changed as a fighter and no longer made such mistakes. Since June 2016, he has won six victories and is absolutely rightly considered Bader's main opponent in the light heavyweight division. Excellent striking technique, excellent footwork and incredible endurance, which were noted by many of Vadim's colleagues, spoke in his favor. In these conditions, Ryan had to rely on the proprietary struggle, which became his calling card during his performance in the UFC.

Nevertheless, it was Bader who was considered the favorite of the duel with Nemkov. The reason for this was huge experience, a great name and a track record, which included triumphs over many famous athletes. For three years at Bellator, he managed to deal with Matt Mitrion, Phil Davis, Mohammed Laval and Fedor Emelianenko. At the same time, he knocked out the last two in a total of 50 seconds. This is probably what made many experts lean to his side. But already during the first round, it became clear that this was a mistake.

Vadim Nemkov is coming out swingin '! # Bellator244pic.twitter.com/cIIIXqC1t1

The starting segment of the battle was almost entirely under the dictation of Nemkov. He moved great, constantly cut corners and made the champion feel uncomfortable in the octagon. The Russian was much sharper and sharper in exchanges, which repeatedly became a revelation for the American. So, already in the second minute, Vadim had a series of five punches to the head, which threw the opponent back to the net. In exchanges, Bader lost significantly, but still managed to attract the attention of the judges with the help of a pass to the legs. Just over a minute before the bell, he took a takedown, but was unable to achieve serious success on the ground. Finally Ryan tried to remind him of his speed data and threw out a swift right overhand, but Vadim held out.

In the second round, the alignment of forces did not change, except that the challenger began to press his counterpart even more actively and use his legs. Even in the first segment of the fight, he performed a combination of a jab, direct and right high-kick, and in the second he used this weapon again. First, he "fed" Bader with a kick on the body, and already in the middle struck in the head. This came as a surprise to the champion and led to a knockdown. The finishing off lasted about 40 seconds, during which the Russian delivered at least 50 blows. The American desperately tried to keep his belt and got up twice, but both times he fell face down on the canvas. In the second case, he even tried to run away from Vadim, but he caught up with him and still forced referee Kerry Hatley to stop the duel. Nemkov began to celebrate, and one of the first to congratulate him was Emelianenko himself, who was acting as a second that evening.

Vadim Nemkov came away with his 7th straight W and light heavyweight gold tonight at # Bellator244. pic.twitter.com/oMMFzUryzL

Nemkov defeated Bader by TKO and became the first Russian Bellator light heavyweight champion. In total, in the history of the promotion, the title was held by four more domestic athletes. Thus, Vadim joined Alexander Shlemenko, Andrey Koreshkov, Alexander Volkov and Vadim Minakov.

“My plan was to make him work as number two. He is lost when he is attacked, beaten. This was my plan, I stuck to it. It bore fruit ... After I kicked in the head, I began to finish off. I was surprised that the referee did not stop the fight for a long time, ”Nemkov said at the end of the fight.

At the same time, Vadim expressed respect for his opponent, but said that he considered himself the best light heavyweight fighter in the world.

“It is very important for me (to be the champion of Bellator - RT ). Made a little story for Russia. Bader and I fought as some of the best fighters in the world in our category. There are guys in the UFC, but I think we can beat them. At the moment I consider myself the best champion in the world, ”the Russian concluded.

Also at Bellator 244 were two more Russian fighters representing the Fedor Team. Valentin Moldavsky scored his tenth career victory over former UFC star Roy Nelson. The battle lasted all the designated three rounds, during which the Russian had an overwhelming advantage over his age rival. He dominated not only in the stance, but also in the clinch and did not allow the basic wrestler to create any serious problems for himself.

At the end of 15 minutes, the statistics spoke for themselves. Moldavsky struck five times more blows (90-17), and even his excessive caution in the final segment did not affect the judges' verdict. The Russian won by unanimous decision and approached the fight with the champion. It is noteworthy that Bader also holds the title in the heavyweight division.

Unlike Moldavian, Vladimir Tokov failed to prolong his successful streak and suffered his first career defeat. The fight with Chris Gonzalez turned out to be very even, and the American took over with a split decision. On his feet, the Russian looked more convincing, but on the ground he was a little weaker than a member of the US Greco-Roman wrestling team. As a result, 29-28, 28-29 and 27-30 on the referee cards.

Bellator 244 was also remembered for the performance of a number of fighters from the post-Soviet countries. Yaroslav Amosov dealt with Mark Lemminger and extended his unbeaten streak to 24 fights. The duel lasted only one round, after which the doctor did not allow the American to continue his performance. The reason for this was the deep dissection of his left eyebrow, which opened after a series of missed punches. It should be noted that there was no particular intrigue in this battle. The Ukrainian immediately began to dominate the opponent and demonstrated that he was noticeably superior to him both in striking technique and in wrestling.

Two other athletes failed to follow Amosov's example. His compatriot Vladislav Parubchenko lost by unanimous decision to John de Jesus, and a native of Tajikistan Salim Mukhidinov lost to Weber Almeida. Already in the fourth minute, he ran into a powerful right straight and was knocked out.