Vadim
Nemkov still wears the target on his back and does so
proudly.
The Fedor
Emelianenko protégé retained his undisputed 205-pound title and
advanced to the semifinals of the Bellator
MMA light heavyweight grand prix with a unanimous decision over
Phil
Davis in the
Bellator 257 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in
Uncasville, Connecticut. All three judges scored it the same: 48-47
for Nemkov (13-2, 6-0 Bellator), who improved to 2-0 in his
head-to-head series with Mr. Wonderful.
Davis (22-6, 9-3 Bellator) struggled to get in gear, and the slow
start did him no favors. Nemkov built a commanding lead on the
strength of a crisp jab, well-timed punching combinations and
occasional kicks to the lower leg. Davis had his moments—he cut the
Russian near his left eye with an overhand right in the second
round and enjoyed some success in the clinch—but failed to give the
champion true pause.
Nemkov will carry an eight-fight winning streak into the tournament
semifinals, where he will face either Anthony
Johnson or Yoel
Romero.
In the co-main event, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 19 winner
Corey
Anderson disposed of Dovletdzhan
Yagshimuradov with third-round punches and elbows to advance to
the semifinals of the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix.
Yagshimuradov (18-6-1, 0-1 Bellator) bowed out 2:15 into Round
3.
Anderson (15-5, 2-0 Bellator) used the first round to get his
bearings, then went to work. He struck for a takedown in the
second, advanced to full mount and dropped elbows on Yagshimuradov.
With that, the course was charted and the message was sent.
Anderson executed another takedown inside the first minute of the
third round, climbed to full mount and cut loose with punches and
elbows until referee Mike Beltran felt compelled to rescue the
battered and bloodied Turkmenistan native.
The loss was Yagshimuradov’s first since Sept. 20, 2015 and closed
the book on his career-best eight-fight winning streak.
Meanwhile, Veta
Arteaga rebounded from back-to-back losses to Ilima-Lei
Macfarlane and Alejandra
Lara with a majority decision over promotional newcomer
Desiree
Yanez in a three-round women’s flyweight showcase. Judges Ron
McCarthy and Dave Tirelli struck 29-27 scorecards in Arteaga’s
favor, while Eric Colon scored it a 28-28 draw.
Arteaga (6-4, 5-4 Bellator) controlled a majority of the standup
exchanges with thudding right hands, jabs and occasional kicks. She
received a one-point penalty in the second round after she landed
an illegal knee on the grounded Yanez (5-3, 0-1 Bellator). The foul
erased a knockdown earlier in the period and put Arteaga in peril
she might not have otherwise experienced. Yanez executed two
takedowns in the match but failed to consolidate them with
positional control or ground-and-pound, and while she opened a
small cut on her counterpart’s left eyebrow, her efforts ultimately
fell short.
Yanez, 31, now finds herself on a two-fight losing streak.
Elsewhere, former Cage Rage champion Paul Daley cut
down Sabah
Homasi with punches in the second round of their catchweight
feature at 175 pounds. Homasi (15-9, 4-3 Bellator) succumbed to
blows 1:44 into Round 2, suffering his first defeat in more than
three years.
Daley (42-17-2, 9-4 Bellator) withstood a ferocious assault from
the American Top Team export in the first round. Homasi had the
brick-fisted Brit reeling with overhand rights on more than one
occasion, assumed top position and racked up damage with his
ground-and-pound. Daley survived the assault and managed to turn
the tide by the end of the period. Early in Round 2, “Semtex”
floored Homasi with one of his patented left hooks, trailed him to
the mat and closed the deal with unanswered punches.
The 38-year-old Daley has rattled off three straight victories.
In other action, Julia Budd
(15-3, 9-1 Bellator) eked out a split decision—29-28, 28-29,
29-28—over promotional newcomer Dayana
Silva (9-6, 0-1 Bellator) in the featured women’s featherweight
prelim; Julius
Anglickas (10-1, 3-0 Bellator) took a unanimous decision from
Gregory
Milliard (12-6, 1-2 Bellator) in a three-round light
heavyweight battle, drawing 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 marks from all
three cageside judges; Steve Mowry
(9-0, 5-0 Bellator) put away Shaun Asher
(13-4-1, 0-2 Bellator) with a knee strike and follow-up punches 55
seconds into the first round of their heavyweight clash; Grachik
Bozinyan (11-4, 1-1 Bellator) was awarded a unanimous decision
over Demarques
Jackson (11-5, 1-1 Bellator) in a three-round welterweight
scrap, sweeping the scorecards with 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 marks
from the cageside judges; Raymond
Daniels (3-1, 3-0 Bellator) captured a unanimous decision over
Peter
Stanonik (4-5, 0-1 Bellator) in a three-round welterweight
encounter, carrying the cards with 30-26, 30-27 and 30-26 scores
from the judges; Lance
Gibson Jr. (4-0, 2-0 Bellator) took a unanimous verdict from
Marcus
Surin (6-3, 2-3 Bellator) in a three-round lightweight
confrontation, earning 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 nods on the
scorecards; Karl
Albrektsson (11-3, 1-1 Bellator) laid claim to a unanimous
decision over Viktor
Nemkov (30-8-1, 0-1 Bellator) in a three-round light
heavyweight tilt, drawing 30-27 marks from all three judges;
Mads
Burnell (15-3, 2-0 Bellator) submitted Saul Rogers
(14-4, 2-2 Bellator) with a rear-naked choke 4:08 into the second
round of their featherweight affair; and Jay-Jay
Wilson (8-0, 7-0 Bellator) put away Pedro
Carvalho (11-5, 4-2 Bellator) with punches 53 seconds into the
second round of their featherweight pairing.