6. Vadim Nemkov
Bellator's current reigning light heavyweight champion and Sherdog's top-ranked light heavyweight finishes sixth. Opinions were heavily split on him, as I personally had him #3 and felt there was a big gap between him and fourth, while a few left him off entirely. I find that strange, as Nemkov has been the No. 1 light heavyweight for many months on Sherdog's divisional list, something only one fighter ahead of him can brag about for any period of time, even in a much less competitive, evolved era. Nemkov, who was trained and mentored by Fedor Emelianenko and has an older brother Viktor who was a good mixed martial artist in his own right, began his career 8-2 by the age of 24. That included a crushing stoppage of tough veteran Goran Reljic in just under three minutes. The lone defeats were a controversial split decision against another future good fighter, Karl Albrektsson and Jiri Prochazka, who has gone on to have some career success of his own. A Nemkov-Prochazka rematch would be a huge deal now, but there was little fanfare when they first fought as 23-year-olds in a Rizin Fighting Federation grand prix where they had competed just 2 days prior. Nemkov got repeated takedowns, absorbed a few heavy strikes, and was so exhausted after the 10-minute first round that he was unable to continue. Prochazka was barely better, being knocked out in just over five minutes by Muhammad Lawal in the finals later that night as a result. Amusingly, neither Nemkov nor Prochazka has lost again since then.
Nemkov then debuted in Bellator, where he is a perfect 9-0 with one no contest and in terms of strength of schedule, no one else even comes close in either Bellator or the UFC. Almost half of those victories have come across three different men considered top 5 light heavyweights. Not top 5 light heavyweights in Bellator, but the entire world, UFC included. Let's start from the beginning. When Nemkov entered Bellator at 25 he was already an excellent wrestler with good striking, very good defense, and as befits a Fedor protege, some of the best ground-and-pound in the entire sport. Over the course of the next five plus years, he would improve in every area, especially his stand-up. He began by starching future PFL heavyweight champion and current UFC fighter Philipe Lins with punches in about three minutes and stopping former Bellator light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary with bone-crushing kicks in the third. When he fought Phil Davis, then seen as a top 5 light heavyweight, in late 2018, few gave the largely unheralded Russian a chance. Nemkov's abilities were tested to the limit by the outstanding Davis, but he walked away with the shocking split decision. Proving it was no fluke, Nemkov demolished another former Bellator world champion, Rafael Carvalho, with a second-round choke, before capturing the light heavyweight crown with a sensational second-round knockout of Ryan Bader, then a champ-champ at 205 pounds and heavyweight, as well as another top 5 light heavyweight. Nemkov had a rematch with Phil Davis, but the new champion had improved a lot over just the previous 18 months. Nemkov dominated Davis for the first 15 minutes, easily winning the first three rounds, but then gassed and lost the final two rounds, still unused to the five-round format. Nevertheless, it was a clear unanimous decision against yet another elite light heavyweight. After finishing a tough challenger in Julius Anglickas with a fourth-round submission, showing his better cardio and energy management, Nemkov looked to have met his match against the phenomenal Corey Anderson. One of the greatest wrestlers in MMA history, who set a UFC record for takedowns against a former Olympic wrestler of all people, Anderson managed to puncture Nemkov's seemingly iron-clad takedown defense and was up two rounds to one when the fight was stopped due to a cut. Nemkov was a significant underdog for their rematch in November 2022, one that would determine the world's best light heavyweight. Nemkov again shocked everyone when he showed significant improvement in the span of just seven months, neutralizing Anderson's wrestling and arguably winning every round en route to an emphatic decision victory. Nemkov's last outing was a dominant decision over another legend in Yoel Romero, already his fourth successful title defense. Having just turned 31 years old, I'm excited to see what else Nemkov's already legendary career will bring, whether that continues to be in Bellator or involves a move to the UFC, disqualifying him from future versions of this list.
Continue Reading » Number 5