BELLATOR 257: Nemkov vs. Davis 2 saw incumbent 205-pound champion Vadim Nemkov (13-3) retain his championship, he now awaits his future opponent. In the co-main event, #3-ranked Corey AndersonĀ (15-5) advanced to the semi-finals to face #4 ranked pound-for-pound athlete Ryan Bader (28-6, 1 NC) at a future date in the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix.
BELLATOR MMA returns to action on May 7 with a bantamweight world title fight pitting c-Juan Archuleta(25-2) against #1 ranked Sergio Pettis (20-5) and a Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix opening round pairing between the debuting Anthony āRumbleā Johnson (22-6) and Yoel Romero (13-5) to determine Nemkovās next title challenger. Bellator 258 airs exclusively on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
āRumbleā had this to say about his upcoming BELLATOR debut on SHOWTIME: āYou know how I fight. I come out there and throw bombs. If you get in the way and get hit, thatās just what happens. Romero is a hell of an athlete. We all have watched him fight. For his age, which to me doesnāt play a factor at all, heās a beast. Iām very excited to fight a man of his caliber. Heās a true challenge to anybody that he faces. I look forward to testing myself against him. Heās definitely an opponent that I respect. Somebody that I know Iāll enjoy fighting and the fans will enjoy it too.
āRight now, I canāt look past Yoel. I really canāt. I donāt look that far ahead. I have goals, but right now I got one of the toughest individuals you can possibly face in my face May 7. Iām looking forward to it and I just need to focus on Yoel. Iām just going to let the dice roll the way theyāre going to roll and whoever makes it to the next round, Iāll focus on that later. Right now, I just need to focus on one individual and everybody else is not even on my radar right now. I just got to focus on the man thatās trying to knock my head off.ā
BELLATOR MMA 257:Ā Nemkov vs.Ā Davis 2Ā MainĀ Card:
c-Vadim NemkovĀ (13-2) defeated #2-Phil DavisĀ (22-5, 1 NC) via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Vadim Nemkov: āMy plan was to out-strike him today and defend the wrestling. Iām pretty happy with my performance but I had some mistakes and Iām going to work on them for next time.
āItās very hard to knock out Phil Davis so I was getting ready for a five round fight and I knew it was going to go the distance. Our conditioning was on point.
āBoth fighters [Johnson and Romero] are very unpredictable. They can strike or wrestle. Iām a champion and Iām ready for whoever wins that fight. It doesnāt matter to me who I face. Both fighters are really good on the ground or standup and itās going to be a good fight for me either way.ā
#3-Corey AndersonĀ (15-5) defeatedĀ DovletdzhanĀ YagshimuradovĀ (18-6-1) via TKO (punches) at 2:15 of round three
Corey Anderson on facing Ryan Bader: āI love the matchup with Bader. I love the matchup with anybody in this tournament. I love the matchup with any 205-er in the world because I know how good I am. Iām just going to show the rest of the world that. Me and Bader, we have history from training together and like I said, one person knows. He knows. Weāre just going to find out in July when we match up. One man has to go out there and make the statement on TV.
āHe knows who heās matched up against. Thatās all. I aināt one of those dudes whoās going to put the film out there on Instagram because that aināt a good sport. But at the same time, he knows. We know. They know itās going to be a tough match. Heās gotten better. Iāve gotten better. He knows itās going to be a war. Itās not like heās going to go in there and take me down like he does with all these other guys. Because he knows. He knows he aināt gonna go out there and out-strike me.ā
#7-Veta ArteagaĀ (6-4) defeatedĀ Desiree YanezĀ (5-3) via majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27)
Veta Arteaga: āMy overall goal is to have another opportunity at the title shot. One fight at a time. I wasnāt overlooking Desiree at all and Iāve just been watching all the females that fight in this division to see who I may be potentially fighting. Iām excited to hopefully climb right back up in the rankings and have another title shot.ā
Paul DaleyĀ (47-17-2) defeatedĀ #8-Sabah HomasiĀ (15-9) via TKO (punches) at 1:44 of round two
Paul Daley on who is nextā¦
āWhoever fancies it. Whoever struggles to get down to 170 and feels like 175 is a good division for them, Iāll fight them. Iāve been in with the best at 170 and now Iām saying here on SHOWTIME and around the world that the 175-pound division is my division. If you want the belt, f*cking come and get it.ā
PreliminaryĀ Card:
#1-Julia BuddĀ (15-3) defeated Dayana SilvaĀ (9-6) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
#5-Julius AnglickasĀ (10-1) defeatedĀ Gregory MilliardĀ (12-5) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
#7-Steve MowryĀ (9-0) defeatedĀ Shaun AsherĀ (13-4-1) via TKO (punches) at :55 of round one
Grachik BozinyanĀ (11-4) defeatedĀ Demarques JacksonĀ (11-5) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Raymond DanielsĀ (3-1, 1 NC) defeatedĀ Peter StanonikĀ (4-4, 1 NC) via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-26)
Lance Gibson Jr.Ā (4-0) defeated Marcus SurinĀ (6-3) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Karl AlbrektssonĀ (11-3) defeatedĀ Viktor NemkovĀ (30-8-1) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
#10-Mads BurnellĀ (15-3)Ā defeated Saul RogersĀ (14-4) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:08 of round two
#7-Jay-Jay WilsonĀ (8-0) defeated #4-Pedro CarvalhoĀ (11-5) via TKO (strikes) at :53 of round two