Vadim Nemkov gets it done in round 4 the LHW
Grand Prix final is now set for Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson
#Bellator268 pic.twitter.com/c6Ho2ZK1Mn— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist)
October 17, 2021
Julius
Anglickas had one brief glimmer of hope against Vadim
Nemkov, but it was only fleeting.
Nemkov (14-2, 7-0 Bellator) retained his light heavyweight crown
with a dominating fourth-round submission victory over Anglickas
(10-2, 3-1 Bellator) in the
Bellator 268 headliner at the Footprint Center in Phoenix,
Ariz., on Saturday night, punching his ticket to the finals of the
promotion’s 205-pound grand prix. A kimura at the 4:25 mark of Round 4 brought the
show to a close. Nemkov will square off with Corey
Anderson in the grand prix championship at a future event,
presumably in 2022.
Anglickas gave Nemkov a scare in the opening stanza when he buckled
the Fedor Emeliankeno protege with a straight right. The Russian
responded by taking Anglickas to the canvas, where he was able to
recover and land some ground-and-pound before the Lithuanian
fighter returned to his feet. For the rest of the frame, Nemkov
kept Anglickas at bay with straight punches and kicks.
Over the course of the next three rounds, however, it was Nemkov’s
wrestling that determined the course of the fight. He grounded
Anglickas with relative ease in each period, battering his opponent
with punches and elbows from top position while threatening with
several different submissions including an arm-triangle, an armbar
and the fight-ending kimura. After his one glimpse of success,
Anglickas offered little resistance on the canvas, but it was
impressive enough that he survived as long as he did. Anglickas was
a replacement in the grand prix for Anthony
Johnson, who withdrew from the bracket due to health
concerns.
“He caught me. I wasn’t knocked down. I just kind of fell,” Nemkov
said of Anglickas’ one big moment. “The reason I went to grappling
is he’s got a hard head. I hit him a few times and realized it just
wasn’t going to happen, so that’s why I went to the
submissions.”
In the co-main event, Corey
Anderson made a huge statement with a quick technical knockout
victory over former 205-pound champion Ryan Bader.
“Overtime” brought a close to the contest 51 seconds into Round 1
with a flurry of ground-and-pound on the reeling former Arizona
State University All-American. Bader has lost two of his last three
appearances at light heavyweight but remains the California-based
promotion’s heavyweight ruler.
“It feels amazing. For everything I’ve been through…To make it here
is truly a blessing,” Anderson said. “For Ryan being a friend of
mine, I hate the fact that it had to happen, but somebody had to
lose.”
An overhand right behind the ear from Anderson
dropped Bader and set the finishing sequence in motion. From there,
Bader did his best to cover up and roll out of danger as Anderson
unleashed a furious salvo of ground-and-pound. Eventually, the
Power MMA team stalwart could no longer intelligently defend
himself and referee Jason Herzog stepped in to end the carnage.
Anderson has won seven of his last eight professional outings
heading into the grand prix final.
Elsewhere, Brent
Primus (11-2, 9-2 Bellator) staked his claim to another
lightweight title shot with a unanimous decision victory over
former UFC champion Benson
Henderson (28-11, 5-6 Bellator). The ex-Bellator king received
scorecards of 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 to win for the third time in
four outings since relinquishing the 155-pound belt to Michael
Chandler in December 2018.
Ultimately, Primus proved to be the better competitor on the
canvas, as he threatened with submissions from his back and took
Henderson’s back on multiple occasions. In the opening round,
Primus denied multiple Henderson takedowns and attacked with both a
guillotine and a kimura. Henderson was at his best in the second
stanza, as he mixed kicks to various levels, knees to the body and
straight left hands. The momentum shifted when Primus took
Henderson’s back at the 1:30 mark and spent the rest of the second
round in that position.
Henderson landed another left hand that briefly made Primus stumble
to knee early in Round 3, but the Sports Lab representative
recovered and took advantage of an ill-advised Henderson guillotine
attempt shortly thereafter. Primus denied the submission attempt
and threatened with a choke of his own before transitioning to back
mount. From there, the 36-year-old would spend more than two
minutes attached to the back of his opponent. Though Primus didn’t
do serious damage with punches or come close to securing a choke,
there was nothing Henderson could do to escape the predicament.
Earlier, Henry
Corrales (19-6, 7-6 Bellator) kept the fight upright and
cruised to a unanimous verdict over Vladyslav
Parubchenko (15-3, 0-2 Bellator) in a featherweight affair. All
three cageside judges submitted 30-27 tallies in favor of the
35-year-old Fight Ready representative.
Parubchenko landed a takedown early in the opening stanza, but
Corrales was able to return to his feet in relatively short order
and dictate the terms of engagement from there. Corrales gradually
picked up steam, landing right hands at range and doing good work
with dirty boxing in the clinch while Parubchenko struggled to
close the distance. His best moment came in Round 3, when he
dropped Parubchenko with a short left hand during an exchange in
the pocket. From there, Corrales only gained confidence, as he put
his punches together and kept this opponent on the defensive for
the majority of the frame.
On the preliminary card, Karl
Albrektsson (13-3, 2-1 Bellator) survived a hard-fought battle
against light heavyweight grand prix participant Dovltdzhan
Yagshimuradov (18-7, 0-2 Bellator) to win a unanimous decision at
205 pounds. All three judges submitted 29-28 scorecards in favor of
Albrektsson. The 28-year-old Pancrase Gym Sweden representative has
won four straight bouts, a streak that includes a pair of triumphs
within the California-based promotion.
After a slow-paced but competitive opening stanza, the action
picked up significantly in Round 2. Albrektsson clipped and dropped
the Turkmenistan native with a right hand early in the stanza and
from there, the Swede teed off with right hands on Yagshimuradov as
he attempted to stand before eventually assuming full mount.
Albrektsson spent much of the period landing punches and elbows
from top position, with Yagshimuradov twice using leg locks to
sweep and escape from his back.
Round 3 was the most closely contested of all the frames.
Albrektsson grounded and mounted his foe early, but Yagshimuradov
was able to explode back to his feet. The most memorable moment of
the round came from the Absolute Championship Akhmat titlist, as he
followed a spinning high kick with a massive three-punch
combination that had Albrektsson reeling against the fence. “King”
was able to regain his bearings enough to score another takedown in
the final minute to halt Yagshimuradov’s momentum on the feet.
In his first bout in more than two years, former Absolute
Championship Berkut title holder Mukhamed
Berkhamov showed no signs of rust, as he tapped ex-Legacy
Fighting Alliance champ Jaleel
Willis with a guillotine choke 4:05 into the opening round of a
preliminary welterweight bout. Now established as a contender at
170 pounds, the Sanford MMA representative has finished nine of his
14 career wins via submission.
Willis (15-3, 2-1 Bellator) started quickly, landing a right hand
that sent his opponent stumbling backward to the mat. From there,
Willis set up in guard before eventually transitioning to a
rear-naked choke attempt. Berkhamov (14-0, 1-0 Bellator) was able
to stand, shake his adversary off and assume a dominant position.
From there, the 27-year-old Russian landed punches to Willis’ head
from back control before transitioning to a mounted guillotine — keeping
Willis’ arm trapped across his neck — with his foe seated against
the fence. Willis had no choice but to tap in a matter of
seconds, his six-fight winning streak a thing of the past.
In earlier preliminary action: Former Legacy Fighting Alliance
champion Nick Browne
(12-1, 1-0 Bellator) submitted Bobby Lee
(12-7, 0-3 Bellator) with a heel hook 1:38 into the opening round at
lightweight; Javier
Torres (12-5, 1 NC, 1-2 Bellator) ended his MMA career with a
split-decision triumph over Gregory Millard (12-7, 0-2 Bellator) at
middleweight; Sumiko
Inaba (3-0, 3-0 Bellator) submitted Randi Field
(2-1, 0-1 Bellator) with an arm-triangle choke at the 2:02 mark of
Round 2 in a flyweight contest; Lance Gibson
Jr. (5-0, 3-0 Bellator) pounded out Raymond
Pina (9-5, 0-2 Bellator) with punches from top position 1:44
into the second round of their lightweight scrap; Jaylon
Bates (4-0, 4-0 Bellator) tapped out Raphael
Montini de Lima (5-5, 1 NC, 0-1 Bellator) with an armbar 3:49 into the opening stanza at
bantamweight; Ryan Bader
training partner Sullivan
Cauley (2-0, 2-0 Bellator) dispatched Deon Clash
(1-1, 0-1 Bellator) with punches and elbows 4:59 into the opening
round at light heavyweight; Maria
Henderson, the wife of Bellator lightweight contender Benson
Henderson, submitted Collette
Santiago 40 seconds
into Round 1 in an amateur flyweight contest.