The Russian officially notified the organization about his move to the heavyweight category back in August last year, but all this time formally remained the current champion of the organization.
The day before it became known that on February 24, Vadim Nemkov will debut in the heavyweight division at the joint PFL and Bellator tournament in Riyadh, his opponent will be former PFL champion Bruno Cappelozza.
Vadim Nemkov won the Bellator bantamweight championship belt in August 2020, finishing American Ryan Bader by second-round technical knockout, before making four successful title defenses, three of them as part of the Bellator bantamweight grand prix, in the final match of which he defeated Corey Anderson by unanimous decision.
The 31-year-old Russian last fought in June of last year, defeating Cuban Yoel Romero by unanimous decision in five rounds.
Vadim Nemkov currently tops Bellator’s rankings of the best fighters regardless of weight class.