“It looks like it’s just exploding in the yard.” Nemkov Sr. – about training with Fedor Emelianenko, his brother’s success and life in Belgorod

When Fedor Emelianenko gained popularity at the federal level, Viktor Nemkov was one of the first fighters about whom they enthusiastically said: “He trains with Fedor.” It was 2008. Nemkov’s career developed in an interesting way: at 36 he has a record of 31-8 in MMA, there are many big names on the list of losers, but the streaks of Victories were often interrupted by unnecessary defeats, and in the end, none of the victories brought the fighter from the Belgorod region to an important title. Nemkov fought in almost all major leagues: M-1, RCC, PFL, and even won a fight in Bellator, where his younger brother is now ranked first in the list of the organization’s best fighters.

On March 2, Nemkov will fight in the “Our Business” promotion. Once there, they organized fights for MP Vitaly Milonov and Nikita Dzhigurda, having defeated Otar Kushanashvili, tested the divisions of Anastasia Volochkova, but now “Our Business” organizes fights only for top athletes level, and Nemkov unexpectedly finds himself at a large conference. 16 fighters take part in it – from Eduard Vartanyan and Damir Ismagulov (one was one step away from the UFC and the other left the same organization) to Alexander Grozin and Miri Sadigov, people who know how to make noise , but which are still only known to a certain segment of the public. Nemkov will fight for the first time in the heavyweight division against Hussein Adamov. What we’re talking about a month before the fight:

— There were about 16 fighters from completely different generations sitting here now. What fights have you seen?

— I saw the fights of Grozin at the RCC, Artur Huseynov, Eduard Vartanyan, Damir Ismagulov. But there were those I had never heard of.

— Is it very unusual to communicate and answer questions in such an environment?

– Yes, the situation is ordinary, normal. Previously, I looked at something on the Internet, expected the worst, but here everything turned out well, cultured and well-mannered people (in the summer of 2023, at the conference “Our Cause”, Shovkhal Churchaev sparked a mass brawl in a store in central Moscow. – Note “”).

— When you looked online and saw a water bottle being thrown at someone or someone swearing at someone, did you imagine how you would behave at that moment?

“I don’t think anyone would throw a bottle at me, and if some sort of quarrel started here, I might get up and leave, the kids are watching me.” I would not want to give them such an example.

– Artur Guseinov was there, have you known each other since the 2000s?

– Yes, we have known Arthur for a long time. We met at training camps and tournaments. We have not communicated closely, but we have known each other for a long time. We weren’t talking about anything specific at the moment; we didn’t have much time.

— After this press conference, what will your preparation look like for the tournament on March 2?

— I will be in the Elbrus region with the team until the 10th, then I will return home and we will continue training at home.

— Your brother, Vadim Nemkov, is now the Bellator light heavyweight champion, obviously you train with him. Do you film your sparring, are there family archives?

— We train all the time in training camps. Sparring is always difficult, but there is almost no video, we don’t record it. When you box, the coaches just watch, they probably draw conclusions.

— You started training with Fedor a long time ago, do you remember the exact date?

— It was probably when the Red Devils team was there, in 2008, I think. We trained in Tomarovka, I began to perform in combat sambo, then Vladimir Mikhailovich Voronov was still alive, thanks to him we got to the training camp in St. Petersburg, then we got to the camp training in Stary Oskol, and that’s how it all started.

— Were you very worried when, at the age of 20, you started training with Fedor, who in 2008 was essentially at the peak of his career?

— There is no excitement, there is maximum concentration. Fedor is very fast, tough, you can’t relax with him at all. He felt sorry for us, but we still had to work with him carefully.

—Did he let you down at sparring?

– No, but if I wanted to, I would let it go.

— In 2008 or a little later, Alexander Volkov came to your gym, did you train with him?

– Yes, of course, in training camps everyone trains.

— Would you be interested in training with him now to understand how he changed when he gained 20-25 kg more?

— We didn’t meet when he signed up for the UFC. I can’t say that I’m interested, Sasha shows good fights in the UFC, I want to wish him to win the belt. I will be very happy for him.

— When was the last time you woke up at the UFC to watch a tournament?

— I watch UFC fights on tape. I have a lot of children, by the time you put them all to bed, you yourself fall asleep. When our guys fight somewhere, I wake up, but not always.

— Did you explain to Fedor Emelianenko what the “Our Business” league is, given that he had a negative attitude towards new promotions?

– We didn’t have an in-depth conversation, I informed him – he said he saw it was a normal tournament. Even at this press conference, everyone behaved with dignity. At this level there is nothing like a regular tournament like Bellator.

— When they told you the name of your opponent, Khusein Adamov (11-2 in MMA), did you know what he looked like?

– Yes, I saw him somewhere…

—Who on your team is going to watch their fights now?

— Vadim and I will look at it together and discuss it. With coaches Alexander Vasilievich Michkov and Vitaly Gennadievich Shabunin.

— Are the fees you will receive here comparable to those in the PFL league?

– No, it’s smaller here.

– What motivates you to fight then?

– Yes, I want to fight, to experience these emotions, in fights there are completely different sensations. Well, make money.

— You had a lot of good streaks in your career, but you would have lost in pointless fights. How did you explain why?

— There were different moments: I came out after an illness or I was generally ill, there was the final of the M-1 selection, I fought against bronchitis, just during an illness. But I started to breathe from the second round.

— You lost to Vinny Magalhaes with a very rare “gogoplata crank” move. Was it the case where you get an appointment and you don’t even know what it is?

— At that moment, I didn’t understand what kind of welcome it was, I didn’t expect it at all, yes. Having lost the position, he raised his leg and did so. I thought our paths would cross in PFL – we competed in the Grand Prix together – but that didn’t happen.

— Did you plan to continue fighting in the USA in the American leagues?

— I want to fight in Russia, here you can organize fights more often, you don’t need a visa. I would like to fight 3-4 more times a year. Maybe it will work.

– Can you imagine how many fights you will have before the end of your career?

– No, there is no quantity, I would like my health to allow me to perform and fight. The family is united.

—At what point did you realize that your younger brother Vadim, as a professional fighter, was beginning to surpass you in level?

— When he signed a contract with Bellator and started growing from fight to fight. It immediately became apparent that he was gaining momentum with each performance.

— Now, are you going to his fight (February 24, at the PFL tournament in Saudi Arabia. — “” note)?

– No, I will not go, because I myself will fight in a week, I will not have much time to recover from the road. Fedor will definitely accompany him, but I don’t know who will be second.

— In what exercises or what specifically is he stronger than you?

— For the moment, probably in everything. It is very fast, fast and durable. It’s hard to compete with him at the moment. We have the same CrossFit coach, Artem Alkin, and we train each other.

— I know that you will lead part of the training in Belgorod, where at the end of the year a terrible event occurred: the city was bombed by the MLRS. How far was your training room from where everything happened?

— If you’re talking specifically about the CrossFit gym, then maybe fifty meters from the gym. This is the next building.

—Were your friends among the dead?

— Not from parents, but through friends, yes, there were people.

– Where were you when everything happened?

— In the center, not far at all, I was at the regional hospital, it is located in the city center. It looked like it was exploding in the yard.

– And Vadim?

—And Vadim, an hour before his arrival, was there where he arrived, on his own business.

— I heard that he is rebuilding a tourist center in the region. Is it still intact?

— It is located in the Tomarovka region, it is a small village and a little remote.

— There is a powerful volleyball team in Belgorod. Can you name at least one Belogorye player?

– Tetyukhin, Khtey, Musersky. I even went to the games several times.

— Have you ever been close to Musersky during live communication?

– Yes, we were awarded somewhere once. It is very tall (217 cm – Rating from ). When you stand next to him, you feel like such a person, like a teenager. But he seems like a very honest and nice guy.

— Belgorod and Stary Oskol are small, friendly towns where you have the impression that everyone knows everyone. Have you ever had a fight in the street in the last ten years?

– No, I didn’t fight, but there were opportunities. I tried to avoid these moments. There are a lot of inappropriate people, mostly drunk, at different times, but this happened 1-2 times. Then the next day they apologized.

– How did they find you?

– I don’t know.

Live broadcasts of mixed martial arts tournaments can be seen on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.