Just a little over a week after Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced that Vadim Nemkov and Corey Anderson were set to collide in the co-main event for the upcoming “Road to Dubai” Series event on Jan, 25, 2025 in Dubai, the bout has been scrapped, per MMA Fighting.
Prior to PFL making it official, Anderson had alleged that he was informed Nemkov had bowed out of the fight because he was seeking to book a fight against lesser competition.
“Woke up to a text this morning from PFL and Bellator saying ‘Vadim refuses to fight you,’” Anderson said on Instagram. “Verbatim their words is ‘you’re too tough of a fight for him. That’s what he says but he wants to stay on the card and fight a lesser opponent. Can’t make this stuff up.
“You call yourself the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the organization, but you’re scared to fight somebody that you’ve already fought twice on seven weeks’ notice.”
That’s a first.
Regardless of the reason for the cancellation, the two men will not be able to close out their rivalry after their first fight at Bellator 277 was ruled a no contest (NC) after an inadvertent clash of heads lead to the stoppage of the fight in round three. In the rematch, Nemkov went on to defeat Anderson via unanimous decision in the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix finale.
Nemkov was initially slated to face Ante Delija on this card before the Heavyweight bruiser bowed out with an injury. There is no telling if Anderson or Nemkov will remain on the card against different opponents, but PFL is not off to good start to 2025 after facing plenty of backlash from several of its fighters on the Bellator roster for lack of fights offered, Anderson being one of them.
The inaugural “Road to Dubai” event is set to feature a highly-anticipated Lightweight title fight as division champion, Usman Nurmagomedov, will defend the belt against rising sensation, Paul Hughes.
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