Vadim Nemkov defended his light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision win against Phil Davis in the main event of Bellator 257.
Vadim Nemkov and Corey Anderson advanced to the semi-finals of the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix with wins at Bellator 257.
The champion Nemkov fared well ins his rematch against Phil Davis landing some good combinations in round one. Nemkov dropped Davis in the second round with a left hand, but Davis did a good job of stalling to recover.
Nemkov’s volume throughout the rest of the fight was too much for Davis. The Russian landed double the number of strikes compared to Davis to win a unanimous decision, although Davis did make a late charge at the end but it was too little too late.
In the co-main event, Anderson picked up a third-round stoppage win against Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov.
After a close first round, Anderson started to get the better of Yagshimuradov in round two landing heavy elbows on the ground after a late takedown. The third round was much the same as Yagshimuradov had no answer for Anderson’s ground and pound and Corey scored the TKO finish.
Anderson will face Bader in the semifinals, whereas Nemkov will face the winner of Anthony Johnson vs. Yoel Romero in the other semifinal.
Elsewhere on the card, Paul Daley scrapped his retirement plans after knocking out Sabah Homasi. ‘Semtex’ said the fight would be his last, but opened the door to another fight in his post-fight interview. Meanwhile Veta Arteaga took a majority decision over Desiree Yanez despite losing a point for illegal knees.
Main card
Vadim Nemkov def. Phil Davis via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Corey Anderson def. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov via TKO (punches and elbows) – Round 3, 2:15
Veta Arteaga def. Desiree Yanez via majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27)
Paul Daley def. Sabah Homasi via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:44
Preliminary card
Julia Budd def. Dayana Silva via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Julius Anglickas def. Gregory Milliard via split decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Steve Mowry def. Shaun Asher by TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:55
Grachik Bozinyan def. Demarques Jackson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Raymond Daniels def. Peter Stanonik via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-26)
Lance Gibson Jr. def. Marcus Surin via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Karl Albrektsson def. Viktor Nemkov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jay-Jay Wilson def. Pedro Carvalho via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 0:53
Mads Burnell def. Saul Rogers via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:08