A Bellator press release describes it as the “chance of a lifetime”
for Julius
Anglickas.
Originally an alternate in the promotion’s light heavyweight grand
prix, Anglickas will step in for Anthony
Johnson against reigning 205-pound champ Vadim
Nemkov in the Bellator 268 main event on Oct. 16. Promotion
officials announced the new semifinal pairing after Johnson was
forced to withdraw from the tournament due to an undisclosed
illness.
Bellator 268 takes place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix and
will also see Ryan Bader
square off against Corey
Anderson in the other half of the light heavyweight bracket.
Anglickas’ original opponent, Karl
Albrektsson, will now square off against Dovletdzhan
Yagshimuradov on the preliminary card. Two other bouts were
also confirmed for the event: Jaylon
Bates vs. Raphael
Montini de Lima at bantamweight and Mukhamed
Berkhamov vs. Jaleel
Willis at welterweight. The main card will air on Showtime at
10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on the Bellator MMA
YouTube channel, the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV
beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
A winner on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Anglickas
has been victorious in his first three Bellator appearances. Most
recently, the Lithuanian fighter earned a unanimous verdict over
Gregory Millard at Bellator 257.
After claiming the light heavyweight throne with a second-round TKO
of Bader at Bellator 244, Nemkov improved to 2-0 against Phil Davis
with a five-round verdict in the quarterfinals of the grand prix at
Bellator 257. Nemkov is currently on an eight-fight winning streak
overall.