Vadim Nemkov has counted Fedor Emelianenko as his coach and mentor for most of his career and now he’s leaning on the legendary heavyweight again as he embarks on arguably his biggest test at PFL Lyon.
On Saturday, Nemkov faces Renan Ferreira to crown the new PFL heavyweight champion and the Russian is giving up a lot of size and reach to his gargantuan opponent. Standing 6-foot-8 and usually tipping the scale at north of 250 pounds, Ferreira is a physically imposing fighter, but Vemkov knows from
watching Emelianenko take down giants throughout his career that the old saying “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” often stands true.
“Well typically, especially in the case of Fedor, his size always gave him the speed advantage,” Nemkov told MMA Fighting. “He was always much faster than the other heavyweights he fought. He was more agile, more explosive but also I believe that being at the right size but not too big at heavyweight gives you the edge in being able to be multi-faceted. I’m able to grapple, I’m able to wrestle, I’m able to box, I’m able to strike.
“Sometimes size starts to limit the kinds of things you can and cannot do well. I feel like smaller heavyweights can do those things well and the same kind of thing applies to me.”
Nemkov made the move to heavyweight after cutting down to 205 pounds to compete at light heavyweight started taking too much of a toll on his body. As he prepares for his third heavyweight fight in the PFL, the 33-year-old Russian has not only adapted to his new division, he’s much healthier and happier when it comes to his preparation.
“I feel much, much better,” Nemkov said. “There’s no weight cut so I don’t have to be limited in what I can eat, what I can drink. I can eat and drink whatever I want so I feel great.
“I’m always training so I never get out of shape. But usually if I’m training without a camp, I’d be at 113, 114 kilos (250 pounds). For the fight I try to get to 110 [kilos] (240 pounds).”
Nemkov found plenty of success competing at light heavyweight where he was a defending Bellator champion but he expects to accomplish even more in his new division.
Beating Ferreira and becoming PFL champion is just the first step for what Nemkov hopes becomes a very successful career at heavyweight.
“Of course only time will tell,” Nemkov said. “But yes, as long as I’m healthy and God’s willing to let me fight, I do want to surpass those light heavyweight accomplishments and accomplish more at heavyweight.”
The fight against Ferreira comes after the Brazilian suffered a lopsided loss to former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Ngannou’s first and only PFL fight to date. On paper, Nemkov clashing with Ngannou probably made more sense, but the promotion had other plans in store booking the fight against Ferreira.
If all goes well Saturday, Nemkov is confident he’ll have plenty of challenges awaiting him and he welcomes the chance to face Ngannou if that’s what the PFL wants.
“Listen, I think Francis is very accomplished and he’s been in the game, he’s had some great fights and some great victories,” Nemkov said. “Fighting him would be an honor. I’d love to do it. If that’s what the PFL wants to do, I’d definitely agree to it.”
As far as his prediction for PFL Lyon, Nemkov plans on showing off the well-rounded skills that he believes gives him an advantage over a huge, hulking heavyweight like Ferreira.
Perhaps that means scoring a brutal knockout or maybe grappling to a submission. Either way, Nemkov is confident he ends the fight before the final bell.
“I always look for a finish,” Nemkov said. “Everywhere in my training, I’m training to finish. I’m always training to sharpen my tools, whether it’s knockouts standing or submissions.
“Yeah, I see that this fight could end early and if I had to predict, I think it ends on the ground. I think you’re going to see a lot more ground work than usual from me.”
