Russian heavyweight Vadim Nemkov in a conversation with , he said that he intends to terminate relations with the PFL league after the contract expires.
Nemkov ranked first in the ranking of the best fighters in Bellator, regardless of weight categories, and after the promotion’s merger with the PFL league, he left the light heavyweight belt and moved to the division heavy. Since December 2023, the fighter has only had two fights and has repeatedly emphasized that he would like to compete more often. The 32-year-old is on a 13-fight unbeaten streak since 2016.
—Unfortunately, in almost all of your recent interviews you’ve been asked, “What’s next?” You answer that you don’t know yet. Is everything still the same?
– Yes, we have to wait… I don’t want to run in front of the locomotive, we have to solve problems as they arise. But I don’t like the situation I fought in February and I still haven’t had a fight. Even though we have already asked the organization for me to perform at the PFL or Bellator tournament. They said Ryan Bader was busy shooting a movie. We asked to be given someone else. They didn’t give to anyone else. It appears that a group of fighters have been released from the PFL Grand Prix and may be fought in the next tournament. But again, they don’t give to anyone. They offered to be a replacement fighter for the fight between Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira.
— Is it true that Ngannou personally rejected your application as a replacement fighter?
– Looks like they told him I was a replacement. He said he was preparing stylistically for a different fighter. And I can both wrestle and do standing work. I myself was informed about this literally 10 days before the tournament.
— And if you were in his place: you would prepare a drummer measuring 203 cm, and a basic sambo wrestler measuring 182 cm could replace him…
“I would probably agree with that option.” Because otherwise you can prepare at all and not fight with anyone [если соперник травмируется].
— You say you would be willing to fight almost any fight. What if we offered you a newcomer to the organization?
“I think that would not have happened, they still need a poster, some kind of plot, but in principle I would just like to fight and make money.” They asked me if I would like to fight in Grand Prix. I replied that there were really a lot of Russians there. And Valentin Moldavsky, Oleg Popov and Denis Goltsov. I wouldn’t want to go with them, of course. Goltsov and I were part of the sambo team for a long time. We train with Valentin and Oleg in the same gym. And what’s more, they’re probably the best.
— At the end of this year, your contract ends. Can we assume you’re now waiting for this to end?
– Most likely, yes. And even if they propose something, I probably won’t agree.
— Could a major international organization with a three-letter name become your new league?
“RCC is also three letters, we’ll see, I can’t say anything yet,” Nemkov told .
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Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
