Vadim Nemkov

Vadim Aleksandrovich Nemkov (; born 20 June 1992) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and a sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the PFL, where he is the current and inaugural Heavyweight Champion. He formerly competed in the Light Heavyweight division of Bellator MMA, where he was the longest-reigning Light Heavyweight World Champion. As of March 26, he is #3 in the PFL men's pound-for-pound rankings. Nemkov is the younger brother of Viktor Nemkov and a protégé of the heavyweight MMA and sambo master Fedor Emelianenko.

Background Vadim Aleksandrovich Nemkov was born in Zhezqazghan, Kazakhstan on June 20, 1992. He grew up in the village of Tomarovka in Russia's Belgorod Oblast. According to Nemkov, his father moved the family to Tomarovka after visiting the area and finding work near the city of Belgorod.

Nemkov began training in martial arts at a young age, often following his older brother Viktor, who was a mixed martial artist and judoka. Upon entering the 9th grade, Nemkov began attending a camp in Stary Oskol, where Russian MMA star Fedor Emelianenko and his team were training. Following graduation from high school, Nemkov served in the Russian Spetsnaz GRU before joining Fedor Team full-time.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career As part of mixed martial arts, Nemkov made his debut on May 31, 2013. The technical knockout that knocked out Magomed Datsiev brought victory to Vadim. Less than a month later, on June 27, he also defeated Andrei Trufaikin by TKO. The next were the Pole Michal Gutovskiy (10–3 at the time of the fight) and the Romanian Isidor Bunea, who generally appeared in professional MMA for the first and last time - they lost in the first round. As a result, having gained a series of 4 early victories, already in 2015, Vadim was signed to Rizin.

Rizin Fighting Federation Rizin Fighting World Grand Prix 2015 In November 2015, the Japanese fight promotion – and successor to Pride Fighting Championships – Rizin Fighting Federation announced the brackets for a Heavyweight Grand Prix to be held on December 29 and 31. It was announced Nemkov would make his Rizin debut against Goran Reljic. He won the bout by knockout in the first round, advancing to the semi-finals 2 days later. In the semi-finals on December 31, Nemkov faced Jiří Procházka, losing via retirement due to being too exhausted at the end of the first (10 minute) round.

Rizin 1 Nemkov returned to face Karl Albrektsson on April 16, 2016, at Rizin 1. He lost the fight via split decision.

Rizin Fighting Word Grand Prix 2016: Second Round After a fight in Russia for Fight Nights Global, Nemkov again competed in Rizin against Alison Vicente on December 29, 2016, at RIZIN FF WGP 2nd round. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Fight Nights Global Fight Nights Global 50: Emelianenko vs Maldonado On June 17, 2016, Nemkov fought Mikołaj Różanski on the Fight Nights Global 50: Emelianenko vs Maldonado card in St. Petersburg, Russia. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Bellator MMA On August 25, 2017, Nemkov made his Bellator debut against Philipe Lins at Bellator 182. He won the fight by knockout in the first round.

In his second bout for the promotion, Nemkov faced former Bellator Light Heavyweight champion Liam McGeary at Bellator 194 on February 16, 2017. He won the fight via TKO due to leg kicks in the third round.

Nemkov faced another former Bellator Light Heavyweight champion in Phil Davis on November 15, 2018, at Bellator 209. He won the closely contested bout via split decision.

In the beginning of 2019, Nemkov signed a new, multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA. As the first fight of the contract, Nemkov faced former Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho at Bellator 230 on October 12, 2019. Nemkov won the bout via submission in the second round.

Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion After racking up four straight wins in Bellator, three of which against former Bellator titleholders, Nemkov was signed to challenge Ryan Bader at Bellator 242 on May 9, 2020, for the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship. However, it was later announced that Bellator 242 and Nemkov's bout against Bader was being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bout with Bader was rescheduled and took place on August 21 at Bellator 244. Nemkov won the bout via second-round technical knockout to capture the Bellator Light Heavyweight title.

On February 9, 2021, it was announced that Nemkov would be defending the Bellator Light Heavyweight title in the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament. It was announced that Nemkov would make his first title defense against Phil Davis, a rematch of their November 2018 bout, which saw Nemkov win via split decision. The bout took place at Bellator 257 on April 16, 2021. Nemkov won the bout via unanimous decision, with Nemkov controlling the first three rounds on the feet.

In the semi-finals of the Grand Prix, Nemkov was scheduled to face Anthony Johnson on October 16, 2021, at Bellator 268. On September 18, it was announced that Johnson was pulled from the Grand Prix due to an undisclosed illness and he was replaced by Julius Anglickas. Nemkov dominated the fight with wrestling and ground and pound, eventually winning via submission in round four.

In the finals of the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament, Nemkov took on Corey Anderson for the 205-pound title as well as the $1 million prize on April 15, 2022, at Bellator 277. The fight ended in a no contest after an accidental clash of heads resulted in a cut on Nemkov's left brow that rendered him unable to continue.

The rematch of the finals took place on November 18, 2022, at Bellator 288. Nemkov was able to stop all the takedowns of Anderson, going 16 for 16, and picked Anderson apart from distance on the way to defending his belt and winning the $1 million prize for winning the Grand Prix via unanimous decision.

Nemkov was scheduled to defend his title against Yoel Romero on February 4, 2023, at Bellator 290. However, Nemkov was forced to withdraw due to undisclosed reason and the bout was scrapped.

In January 2023, Bellator announced that it had signed a multi-year, multi-fight contract with Nemkov.

The fight with Yoel Romero was rebooked and eventually took place on June 16, 2023, at Bellator 297. Nemkov won the fight via unanimous decision.

Move to Heavyweight On January 17, 2024, Nemkov announced that he was vacating the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship and moving up to Heavyweight.

Nemkov faced 2021 PFL Heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza on February 24, 2024, at PFL vs. Bellator. He won by arm-triangle submission in the second round.

After Ante Delija withdrew for unknown reasons, Nemkov was scheduled to face Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion Corey Anderson in a heavyweight bout for their third meeting on January 25, 2025, at Bellator Champions Series 6 (also marketed as PFL Road to Dubai: Champions Series). However, on December 15, Anderson stated that the fight was off because he is "too tough of a fight" for Nemkov., and Nemkov instead faced Timothy Johnson. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

Professional Fighters League Nemkov faced 2023 PFL Heavyweight Tournament winner Renan Ferreira for the inaugural PFL Heavyweight Championship on December 13, 2025, at PFL Europe 4. Nemkov won the bout via submission in the first round.

Personal life Nemkov served in the 16th Spetsnaz Brigade in 2010.

Championships and accomplishments Professional Fighters League

Bellator MMA

Four successful title defenses Most consecutive Light Heavyweight title defenses in Bellator MMA history (four) 2021 Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix winner 20x20px PFL vs. Bellator Champion of Champions Super Belt (One time) Rizin Fighting Federation 2015 Rizin World Grand Prix Semifinalist MMA Sucka 2020 Non-UFC Breakout Star of the Year MMA Fighting 2025 Third Team MMA All-Star

Mixed martial arts record Win

Renan Ferreira Submission (arm-triangle choke) PFL Lyon: Nemkov vs. Ferreira

Décines-Charpieu, France Win

Timothy Johnson Submission (rear-naked choke) PFL Champions Series 1

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Win

Bruno Cappelozza Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) PFL vs. Bellator

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Win

Yoel Romero Decision (unanimous) Bellator 297

Chicago, Illinois, United States Win

Corey Anderson Decision (unanimous) Bellator 288

Chicago, Illinois, United States NC

Corey Anderson NC (accidental clash of heads) Bellator 277

San Jose, California, United States Win

Julius Anglickas Submission (kimura) Bellator 268

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Phil Davis Decision (unanimous) Bellator 257

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Ryan Bader TKO (head kick and punches) Bellator 244

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Rafael Carvalho Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 230

Milan, Italy Win

Phil Davis Decision (split) Bellator 209

Tel Aviv, Israel Win

Liam McGeary TKO (leg kicks) Bellator 194

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Philipe Lins KO (punches) Bellator 182

Verona, New York, United States Win

Alison Vicente KO (punches) Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 2nd Round

Saitama, Japan Win

Mikołaj Różanski TKO (punches) Fight Nights Global 50

Saint Petersburg, Russia Loss

Karl Albrektsson Decision (split) Rizin 1

Nagoya, Japan Loss

Jiří Procházka TKO (retirement) Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 2 - Iza

Saitama, Japan Win

Goran Reljić KO (punches) Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 1 - Saraba

Saitama, Japan Win

Joaquim Ferreira KO (punch) League S-70: Plotforma Cup 2015

Sochi, Russia Win

Isidor Bunea Submission (rear-naked choke) Stary Oskol MMA Federation: Steel Battle 2

Stary Oskol, Russia Win

Michał Gutowski TKO (punches) Youth Sports Foundation KHARS: Liberation 2013

Belgorod, Russia Win

Andrei Trufaikin TKO (punches) Radmer Cup 4: 2 Round

Sterlitamak, Russia Win

Magomed Datsiev TKO (punches) Union of Mixed Martial Arts: Way of the Warrior 3

Tambov, Russia