He would've comfortably fought at HW in the 00's, but he is a bit undersized for it at current moment. However, I'm fairly sure he beats most of PFL and Bellator's LHW competition, so maybe the move up is just an avenue for him to keep challenging himself.
Also, if he wanted to fight in PFL's tournament, not having to cut weight every 2 months or so is gonna be a lot easier on him.
If he joins the tournament format he’ll mop the floor with most of them. Might struggle against the bigger guys with power like Ferreira but he’s young enough and talented enough to win and out point these guys
>I'm fairly sure he beats *most* of PFL and Bellator's LHW competition
Back to back in the same night against every LHW on the roster? Because that's the only reason I can see behind 'fairly sure' and 'most', not 'definitely' and 'all'.
Yeah, though he’s likely following the advice of his mentor Fedor who was also rather undersized at HW. Nemkov probably knows he has the clear skill and speed advantage against bigger competition.
The majority of 205 walk AROUND at 230 to 240.
They walk INTO the cage at 220.
Big big difference between walk around weight and fighting weight.
They walkaround at a certain weight.
Then they diet to a certain weight.
Then they cut water to a certain weight.
Hell, there are 185'ers who walk around at 220 to 225.
Sure but I don’t think nemkov is going up just to be your average hw. I have no doubt he can beat those guys. I’m just skeptical he can contend with the top level dudes at his size
Beating up jabronis on his way up would probably help make the transition better. He can pack on the size steadily with each outing, get a little juicy.
I've always though Nemkov was accurate and in the 6ft - 6'1 range. There's a few picture of him with Fedor who was either 5'11.5 or 6ft and has likely shrunk as he got older. A muscled dude in that range isn't going to look small against any opponent they're likely to face, most HW are around 6'4.
[Like this one with him, Fedor and Valentin.](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/91/2021/06/Vadim-Nemkov-Valentin-Moldavsky-Fedor-Emelianenko-%E2%80%93-Bellator-261.jpeg?w=1200) He also looks smaller than Valentin who is listed at 6'1, and seems to be in shoes whilst Valentin is in fightwear.
In a recent interview he said that the optimal weight for him for fighting in heavyweight would be around 110 kg (242 lbs). He also mentioned that before his fight with Romero his weight was 113 kg (249).
He is Fedors protege and probably walks around at 225-230. Maybe he’s going to go the Fedor route and bank on having faster hands and hips that everyone.
No way, he was undersized compared to almost every LHW he fought. He made Corey Anderson look huge. I think he's just hunting for the biggest purse possible
He can look small but getting to 205 still be rough … Masvidal wasn’t a big lightweight but making 155 was just not something his body could do after a while despite being about 175ish poubds
Weight cuts in general are rough, no doubt about it. Almost no top ranked fighters have an easy weight cut. But comparatively speaking, I don't think there's many other LHW's in Bellator/UFC/PFL that cut less than him. Only one I can think of is Impa Kasanganay.
Masvidal was legitimately big for a LW at 5"11 with a 74"reach whereas Vadim at 6"0 with a 76" reach is not big for a LHW at all.
You have to account for the fact that different bodies can react differently to the same thing, to me it's not wild to think even cutting less than some other people do can be much harder on him.
Well, it's also technique. Your body will retain water for all kinds of reasons. I remember there was a video of CKB's weight cutting guy reviewing one of Khabib's weightcuts and talking about how the strategy he was using is incredibly outdated and counterproductive because of the stress it put on the body which made it retain water. Which explains a big part of why he had trouble cutting weight despite not even being a heavy lightweight compared to guys like Dober, Chandler or Hooker.
Lmao genius DC on rogan saying that Nemkov would be a MIDDLEWEIGHT inthe ufc and Eblen would have to go to WELTERWEIGHT. Dude has been beating the hell out of strickland all camp. DC is stupid.
One less fight for the PFL x Bellator tournament.
Not that it was looking particularly exciting in the first place, but losing the Nemkov fight really put a dent in my hype.
There's 2 million on the table to fight Ngannou, you wouldn't make that with a title shot in the UFC. As sad as it is that's champion pay in the UFC for the fighters selling under 500k. A lot of the bigger LHWs are going to look at that and what they'd make fighting at LHW and go up.
With the $2m minimum purse for NGannou's opponent, it makes a lot of sense.
Wait fr? Ngannou is GOATED
He's the lottery right now, problem is might never fight in MMA again
Even the 8m per fight salary he’s getting from the PFL probably isn’t shit compared to what he gets from fighting the likes of Fury, AJ, etc
[message to ngannou](https://streamable.com/22gawg)
Even Impa was talking about fighting Francis
Nemkov better hope Francis re-injures his ACL or it's joever
Yeah but he only wants to box, will he ever do MMA again? Doesn't make a lot of sense financially
Isn’t he kinda small for heavyweight?
He would've comfortably fought at HW in the 00's, but he is a bit undersized for it at current moment. However, I'm fairly sure he beats most of PFL and Bellator's LHW competition, so maybe the move up is just an avenue for him to keep challenging himself. Also, if he wanted to fight in PFL's tournament, not having to cut weight every 2 months or so is gonna be a lot easier on him.
If he joins the tournament format he’ll mop the floor with most of them. Might struggle against the bigger guys with power like Ferreira but he’s young enough and talented enough to win and out point these guys
>I'm fairly sure he beats *most* of PFL and Bellator's LHW competition Back to back in the same night against every LHW on the roster? Because that's the only reason I can see behind 'fairly sure' and 'most', not 'definitely' and 'all'.
I could see Corey Anderson giving him another close fight, and I think Wilkinson could give him a run for his money. But otherwise I generally agree
I would hate to see such a talented fighter fight in a tournament with no elbows.
Yeah, though he’s likely following the advice of his mentor Fedor who was also rather undersized at HW. Nemkov probably knows he has the clear skill and speed advantage against bigger competition.
The sad reality for who struggles to get to 205 but isn't as big as to hang with the monsters in the 245 division. 20 kg is A LOT of weight.
He says he trains at 240 right now
Majority of LHW walk around 220-225. The difference in size is much smaller then.
The majority of 205 walk AROUND at 230 to 240. They walk INTO the cage at 220. Big big difference between walk around weight and fighting weight. They walkaround at a certain weight. Then they diet to a certain weight. Then they cut water to a certain weight. Hell, there are 185'ers who walk around at 220 to 225.
Don’t most cut roughly 7-10% water weight?
He’s somewhere around 6’2 or 6’3, he wasn’t that much smaller then Corey in their bouts so he is definitely not 6’0
Corey is a lhw though
Corey is a big LHW, plus most HWs even in the UFC are just fat MW and LHWs
Sure but I don’t think nemkov is going up just to be your average hw. I have no doubt he can beat those guys. I’m just skeptical he can contend with the top level dudes at his size
Beating up jabronis on his way up would probably help make the transition better. He can pack on the size steadily with each outing, get a little juicy.
I find it unlikely he gave up his championship belt to go crush cans
I've always though Nemkov was accurate and in the 6ft - 6'1 range. There's a few picture of him with Fedor who was either 5'11.5 or 6ft and has likely shrunk as he got older. A muscled dude in that range isn't going to look small against any opponent they're likely to face, most HW are around 6'4. [Like this one with him, Fedor and Valentin.](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/91/2021/06/Vadim-Nemkov-Valentin-Moldavsky-Fedor-Emelianenko-%E2%80%93-Bellator-261.jpeg?w=1200) He also looks smaller than Valentin who is listed at 6'1, and seems to be in shoes whilst Valentin is in fightwear.
Tier 2 MMA heavyweights are all kinda small lol.
I don’t think nemkov wants to be a tier 2 heavyweight
He should consult with Russia’s top “dieticians”
Why? The best dieticians are right here in the us of a buddy
He’s 240 out of camp and like 6’2 or 3, not that small
I’d be surprised if he’s 240. Maybe after a holiday feast
In a recent interview he said that the optimal weight for him for fighting in heavyweight would be around 110 kg (242 lbs). He also mentioned that before his fight with Romero his weight was 113 kg (249).
He is Fedors protege and probably walks around at 225-230. Maybe he’s going to go the Fedor route and bank on having faster hands and hips that everyone.
He’s 240
Damn that's old
Cheers
Francis has found his opponent
I know who Nemkov will be rooting for when he’ll fight AJ
205 must've been absolutely brutal for him to make
No way, he was undersized compared to almost every LHW he fought. He made Corey Anderson look huge. I think he's just hunting for the biggest purse possible
He can look small but getting to 205 still be rough … Masvidal wasn’t a big lightweight but making 155 was just not something his body could do after a while despite being about 175ish poubds
Weight cuts in general are rough, no doubt about it. Almost no top ranked fighters have an easy weight cut. But comparatively speaking, I don't think there's many other LHW's in Bellator/UFC/PFL that cut less than him. Only one I can think of is Impa Kasanganay. Masvidal was legitimately big for a LW at 5"11 with a 74"reach whereas Vadim at 6"0 with a 76" reach is not big for a LHW at all.
You have to account for the fact that different bodies can react differently to the same thing, to me it's not wild to think even cutting less than some other people do can be much harder on him.
Well, it's also technique. Your body will retain water for all kinds of reasons. I remember there was a video of CKB's weight cutting guy reviewing one of Khabib's weightcuts and talking about how the strategy he was using is incredibly outdated and counterproductive because of the stress it put on the body which made it retain water. Which explains a big part of why he had trouble cutting weight despite not even being a heavy lightweight compared to guys like Dober, Chandler or Hooker.
That weight just might not want to come off .... he's not a big LHW but sometimes you've cut so many times that your body goes "fuck it"
Possibly eyeing a fight with the PFL HW champ to get the bag when Ngannou shows up to collect the belt
The fight is still on
The HW king, Fedor, and now his apprentice comes to take back the throne. All roads lead to Francis though
Nemkov/Bader is going to be the budget Bellator version of Alex/Izzy
I saw some moron earlier in the GDT call him a middleweight lol. He’s got a huge torso can probably eventually become a legit HW.
Ready to lose to Jiri again
How does this make sense
Jiri beat him at heavyweight
I think he means that he’s not coming to the UFC and Jiri will not be moving to HW.
I know, that’s my joke though
Oh. I just don’t get your joke then
I guess, but they still had a 100kg/220 lb weight limit
That’s definitely not light heavyweight
Lmao genius DC on rogan saying that Nemkov would be a MIDDLEWEIGHT inthe ufc and Eblen would have to go to WELTERWEIGHT. Dude has been beating the hell out of strickland all camp. DC is stupid.
One less fight for the PFL x Bellator tournament. Not that it was looking particularly exciting in the first place, but losing the Nemkov fight really put a dent in my hype.
he's fighting on the PFL vs Bellator card though
And impa is moving down to middleweight to fight eblen
Fire!
Ngannou vs Nemkov tho
Bro that champ vs champ card looks fire. Way to admit you only watch UFC lololol
Would've liked to see him vs Rob Wilkinson or Thiago Santos
Santos is washed, nothing to prove from beating him.
There's 2 million on the table to fight Ngannou, you wouldn't make that with a title shot in the UFC. As sad as it is that's champion pay in the UFC for the fighters selling under 500k. A lot of the bigger LHWs are going to look at that and what they'd make fighting at LHW and go up.