The Russian Invasion in mixed martial arts is well underway.
There is UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov from Dagestan, Russia, ethnic Russian UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko from Kyrgyzstan, and UFC bantamweight champ Petr Yan from Dudinka, Russia, among many other top fighters. The heavyweight GOAT Fedor Emeliaenko is no longer young, but Bellator MMA saw Russian heavyweight belt holder Alexander Volkov replaced by Russian Vitaly Minakov, who was stripped for failing to make title defenses; the title eventually went to Ryan Bader, who beat Fedor for it.
Bader is also Bellator’s light heavyweight title holder, and no Russian has ever held the light heavyweight title in a major global MMA organization. That could change on Friday night, when Vadim Nemkov challenges Bader for the 205 belt at Bellator 244, held at Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Connecticut.
Nemkov, 28, and from Belgorod, Russia, entered Bellator on a two-fight streak. In his promotional debut, he KO’d Philipe Lins in Round 1, then TKO’d Liam McGeary with leg kicks in Round 3, SD’d Phil Davis, and in his last fight, rear naked choked Rafael Carvalho in Round 2. In a pre-fight interview, Nemkov understood the stakes.
I really want it, he said. I want it. I trained for it. I’m young, I’m hungry – this is what I envisioned. I want to have a title. I want to bring back a title to Russia. This is probably not big news, but for me it is. If I succeed and win the title, I will be the first Russian to earn a title at 205 pounds in a major organization, so it’s a big deal for me.
I don’t play the fight out on my head because this is mixed martial arts, and the fight can last 25 minutes or end in 30 seconds, so I don’t really play it out. What I did do is prepare for 25 minutes of hard fighting. I’m prepared for 25 minutes of hard wrestling, grinding, and hard fight.
I have a game plan, and I hope to implement it on Saturday, and if it’s successful you guys will see. Of course, I would like to finish the fight with a knockout or a quick submission, but you don’t know.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89-wWqpT15A
h/t Danny Segura and Nolan King for MMA Junkie
