
Bellator’s Vadim Nemkov will be facing 2021 PFL heavyweight world champ Bruno Cappelozza at the PFL vs. Bellator event on February 24. This will be a surprise for some, given Nemkov’s current title as the promotion’s light heavyweight champ. However, the fighter has reportedly left his title and moved to the heavyweight due to challenges in cutting weight.
PFl has already announced the lineup of its huge PPV PFL vs. Bellator Champs event featuring four champion vs. champion bouts. One pair includes Nemkov and Cappelozza, who will engage in a heavyweight showcase fight. The pairing was quite a surprise for some fans as Nemkov is currently thriving in Bellator’s light heavyweight division, where he boasts a nine-fight winning streak. His last fight was against Yoel Romero in June 2023 via decision, but his earlier fights were even more impressive, with the fighter making either submission or TKO wins.
However, Nemkov is coming to an end. This supports an earlier report echoing the same claim.
According to a report from MMA Junkie, the reason behind the pairing of Nemkov and Cappelozza is due to the former’s departure from the light heavyweight division. In line with this, the Bellator fighter is officially leaving his title. Nonetheless, the move to a higher weight class is not a surprise as the Russian has already expressed interest in the plan before, saying he is “getting older and every fight is getting harder” for weight cutting.
The promotion still hasn’t confirmed the matter, and Nemkov remains the listed light heavyweight champ on the company’s page. We will update this story for comments from Bellator and PFL soon.