Bellator light-heavyweight champion Corey Anderson will face Vadim Nemkov again in January.
Next month, the promotion is set to hold its biggest event since being bought by the PFL in late 2023. In the main event of Bellator Champions Series: Dubai, Usman Nurmagomedov will defend his gold against Paul Hughes. The 18-0 lightweight champion will look to halt the Irishman’s progress, who is fresh off a win over A.J. McKee in October.
While the main event is an excellent fight, the card is largely empty as of now. However, Bellator Dubai got a big boost earlier today, in the form of a trilogy fight between Corey Anderson and Vadim Nemkov. For what it’s worth, ‘Overtime’ was one of the multiple PFL athletes to recently take to social media expressing frustration about inactivity.
Well, now the Bellator light-heavyweight champion will meet a familiar foe in Vadim Nemkov. For his part, Corey Anderson was last seen in the cage in March, earning a unanimous decision win over Karl Moore. While that bout saw the 35-year-old finally win gold, his title won’t be on the line next month in Dubai.
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! @VadimNemkov runs it back with Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion, @CoreyA_MMA at the Coca-Cola Arena on Saturday January 25!
Who gets their hand raised in this high stakes heavyweight co-main event?
BE THERE!… pic.twitter.com/JKepSPI1J5
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) December 11, 2024
Corey Anderson vs. Vadim Nemkov 3 added to the undercard of Bellator Champions Series Dubai
Instead, this will be a rare fight at heavyweight for Corey Anderson. He only competed above light-heavyweight once, a 2013 first-round knockout win over Stephen Flagan on the regional scene. Over a decade later, he will look to hand Vadim Nemkov his first defeat up at heavyweight.
For what it’s worth, the Russian officially moved up in weight in February. On the PFL vs. Bellator undercard, Vadim Nemkov handed Bruno Cappelozza a second-round submission loss. While the former champion was initially expected to face Ante Delija in January, he will instead meet a former foe in Corey Anderson.
They met on two occasions back in the Scott Coker era of Bellator. In April 2022, Corey Anderson largely dominated the Russian, until a fourth-round headbutt resulted in a no-contest. In their rematch later that year, Vadim Nemkov outpointed the wrestler en route to a decision win to retain his light-heavyweight title.
What do you make of this Bellator news? Do you think Corey Anderson can defeat Vadim Nemkov in January?
