Adam Guillen has been writing (and translating) for MMAmania.com since 2011, covering the latest UFC, Bellator, PFL and other mixed martial arts (MMA) news and latest happenings throughout the combat sports world.

Vadim Nemkov has had a rather bumpy road to get to his next fight. He was initially slated to face Ante Delija this Saturday (Jan. 25, 2025) at PFL's "Road to Dubai" event inside Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but that fight fell through after Delija got injured.

It was then revealed that he would face Corey Anderson in a trilogy fight to settle their beef, but that fight was also scratched. Now, Nemkov -- the former Bellator Light Heavyweight champion of the world -- will face Tim Johnson in Heavyweight action. It will be his first fight in nearly a year, as he was last seen defeating Bruno Cappelozza via arm triangle in Feb. 2024 (see it here).

Nemkov's contract with PFL will be up after Saturday, and while he says he is happy to stick with the company moving forward, he will only do so if they can keep its promise of keeping him busy.

"It's the last fight on my contract," Nemkov told MMA Junkie. "I was supposed to have four fights during the two years, and I only had one. This is going to be the second fight. ... Honestly speaking, I'm OK with the PFL. The thing is I'm at the peak of my fighting career<' he added.

"I feel great. If they're able to provide what we were supposed to do from the beginning, with three or four fights a year, I would be fine with that. But as of right now, I'm just concentrating on this fight."

Corey Anderson claimed that Nemkov turned down the trilogy bout because he wanted an easier opponent. According to the Russian big man, that is far from true.

"From the Corey Anderson perspective on that fight and stuff, he was coming out back-and-forth on my social media, and I saw he was preparing to fight in the heavyweight division. Then in the end it looks like it was kind of a setup, so I felt like if Delija wouldn't come through, they're going to give me Anderson. Since the fight was changed last minute, the only thing we asked the PFL is if they would give us a better contract, because it's a different fight and different fighter. Basically PFL refused to negotiate the new contract for the fight with Corey Anderson," he proclaimed.

"The contract negotiations didn't go through, and the fight didn't make much sense. I never agreed to the fight to begin with. There were negotiations, we started negotiating, but I don't even know why the PFL announced that fight. And to be honest, I don't feel like that fight is good for me at all. He's not rated at heavyweight. He was kind of a gatekeeper at UFC, and that fight didn't make sense, and especially without renegotiating the contract it didn't make sense at all."

Nemkov has a record of 17-2-1 as a pro, going 9-0-1 under the Bellator brand, 1-0 under PFL. As far as PFL's decision to bury Bellator once and for all, it was a bitter sweet outcome for Nemkov.

"I do feel a little bit sad because this is where I begin my journey," Nemkov said. "I built my name and brand in that company, and they did show really good aspects of my fighting game, so I do feel a little bit sad."

PFL boss, Donn Davis, recently revealed that he would oblige with any requests from Bellator fighters who wish to move on, and with Nemkov nearing the end of his deal, it will be interesting to see if the two sides can come to an agreement or risk losing yet another champion.