A Man of Complexity

Reigning Bellator MMA light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov often pairs straight right hands to the head with murderous low kicks, rarely switching from the orthodox stance. He buys into the Bruce Lee philosophy: “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” Basics matter to him.

Nemkov has rattled off eight straight victories, six of them in Bellator. He carries an overall record of 13-2, with eight first-round finishes to his credit, and trains under the legendary Fedor Emelianenko in his native Russia. There, he sharpens his skills alongside teammates like Valentin Moldavsky and Kirill Sidelnikov. Nemkov admits the idea of a move to heavyweight to pursue a second title intrigues him, but his loyalties run deep.

“I could probably move to the heavyweight division and try to take the championship from Ryan Bader, whom I defeated in 2020, but I don’t want to compete with my friend (Moldavsky),” he told Sherdog.com. “I’ll never agree to fight him. In addition, I consider myself to be much more effective in the light heavyweight division, although it is not easy for me to cut 30 pounds before each bout.”

When Nemkov knocked out Bader to win the Bellator light heavyweight title in August 2020, talk started about a potential jump to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Soon after, Bellator President Scott Coker announced plans for a light heavyweight grand prix, all while proudly declaring that his promotion was home to the best 205-pound weight class in the world. Nemkov, Bader, Anthony Johnson, Phil Davis, Lyoto Machida, Corey Anderson, Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov and Yoel Romero made up the original eight-man field. Romero later withdrew and was replaced by Jose Augusto Azevedo Barros. A $1 million prize would await the winner.

Nemkov drew Davis—a man he had defeated previously—in the tournament quarterfinals at Bellator 257 on April 16. It also served as his first title defense. Nemkov dictated much of the action across five rounds, and although his performance fell short of perfection, he was awarded a unanimous decision.

“For some reason, I just couldn’t relax, which is why my strikes often did not reach the target,” he said. “I remember how I felt in the fight with Bader. I saw all his punches and completely controlled the situation. Internally, I was completely relaxed. Nothing bothered me. Things went differently with Davis. He is vicious, very strong physically and his punches fly along some unthinkable trajectories. Phil’s defense at first glance is primitive, but it is very difficult to break through it. In general, the fight with him was a serious test for me, and the fact that I was tight for some unknown reason almost ruined the whole thing for me. Maybe I’m a little burned out psychologically.”

Nemkov finds his motivation in personal growth, not in avenging his two career defeats—he lost to Jiri Prochazka and Karl Albrektsson in back-to-back outings in Japan five-plus years ago—or in pursuing the biggest paydays. Anderson, a potential opponent in the grand prix final, garnered widespread attention when he claimed to have made twice as much money in his first two appearances with Bellator than he did in his 15 bouts in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Nemkov shrugged.

“Corey probably earns more than me,” he said. “That’s understandable. After all, I haven’t had 15 fights in the UFC. So far, my pay is fine for me.”

While Nemkov draws most of his attention from what he does inside the cage, he also excels away from competition. The Russian earned a specialty degree in personnel management at the economics school at Belgorod State Technological University, and he is currently working on finishing his master’s degree. Nemkov admits the quarantines associated with COVID-19 have allowed him to solve many logistical problems with his studies, as classes were mainly conducted online.

“Higher education is needed,” Nemkov said. “You never know where life will take you. What if there is a leadership position somewhere but you need a diploma to take it? I can’t know what will happen in 10 years, so I’m preparing for everything.”

Another little-known page in Nemkov’s personal testimony: the army.

“I did my military service in the Tambov Special Forces brigade,” he said. “The military registration and enlistment office told me, ‘If you win such and such a competition, you will serve in a sports company. Unfortunately, I did not take the prize-winning place and became an ordinary soldier. It was difficult. I, like everyone else, went through the gunning, the duties and the exercises for a whole year. Now, I don’t think this was in vain. I learned how to shoot different types of weapons and jump with a parachute. Most importantly, I made a lot of friends.”

Nemkov’s close ties to Emelianenko are undeniably beneficial. He joined the former Pride Fighting Championships titleholder’s team after winning a national championship in combat sambo in 2015. It was Emelianenko who taught Nemkov the right straight for which he has become feared, focusing on his shoulder turn during the strike. Emelianenko’s trainers, Vladimir Voronov and Alexander Michkov, have also worked extensively with Nemklov. In addition, “The Last Emperor” brought Nemkov to the attention of Rizin Fighting Federation in Japan and ultimately to Bellator in the United States.

“Everything is very bright and colorful in Japan when compared to the United States,” Nemkov said. “Each event is a huge celebration, an incredible show with drummers, fireworks, light and music. The audience also reacts more. They shout like crazy, clap and wave their hands. In the United States, everything is much more modest. I really enjoyed performing in Japan, where all of the roundabout hype is very energizing. The only problem was jetlag, because the time difference between Tokyo and my home is six hours. As a rule, we couldn’t come to Japan in advance, so it was very difficult to fight.”

Nemkov’s next test comes in the light heavyweight grand prix semifinals, where a showdown with the aforementioned Johnson awaits on Oct. 16. He calls the UFC veteran “a strong, experienced fighter with knockout power and a good test for any champion.” If Nemkov defeats Johnson, he will move on to the final to face the Anderson-Bader winner for $1 million. He admits he would prefer facing Anderson to a Bader rematch. “It would be more interesting,” he said, “and it would be a new challenge for me.”