Being the target does not appear to bother
Vadim
Nemkov in the least.
The stoic Russian will defend his undisputed
Bellator
MMA light heavyweight crown when he confronts
Yoel Romero
in the
Bellator 297 main event on Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Nemkov steps back into the spotlight on the strength of an 11-fight
unbeaten streak that has seen him go 10-0 with one no contest. He
last competed on Nov. 18, when he laid claim to a five-round
unanimous decision over
Corey
Anderson in their light heavyweight grand prix final at
Bellator 288. Romero, meanwhile, has rattled off back-to-back wins.
The
American Top Team star last fought at Bellator 285, where he
cut through
Melvin
Manhoef with a volley of elbows in the third round of their
Sept. 23 pairing.
As Nemkov and Romero make final preparations for their looming
showdown at 205 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have
accompanied them to this point:
30: Years of age for Nemkov, who was born on June 20, 1992 in
Belgorod, Russia.
9: Nemkov victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting
for 60% of his career total (15).
Ryan Bader,
Liam
McGeary and
Philipe
Lins comprise his list of Bellator victims. Nemkov holds three
other victories by submission (20%) and three more by decision
(20%).
22: Seconds needed for Nemkov to punch out
Joaquim
Ferreira at a League S-70 show on Aug. 29, 2015. Nearly eight
years later it remains his fastest finish to date.
6: Fighters besides Nemkov who have held the undisputed Bellator
light heavyweight championship. The list: Bader, McGeary, Christian
M’Pumbu,
Attila Vegh,
Phil
Davis and
Emanuel
Newton.
.833: Cumulative winning percentage between the two
opponents—
Karl
Albrektsson and
Jiri
Prochazka—who have beaten Nemkov. They sport a combined record
of 42-8-1.
46: Years of age for Romero, who was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba,
on April 30, 1977.
13: Romero wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for
87% of his career total (15). Manhoef,
Luke
Rockhold,
Chris
Weidman and
Lyoto
Machida highlight his list of victims. Romero owns two other
wins by decision (13%).
400,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses banked by Romero across his
13 appearances in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was awarded “Fight of the
Night” five times, “Performance of the Night” twice and “Knockout
of the Night” once.
60: Rounds started by Romero as a professional mixed martial
artist. He has gone the distance on seven different occasions and
carries a 2-5 record in those bouts.
99: Combined victories between the five opponents—Davis,
Robert
Whittaker (twice),
Israel
Adesanya,
Paulo Costa
and
Rafael
Cavalcante—who have defeated Romero. They boast a cumulative
.811 winning percentage at 99-23.