After the dust settled from the great night of fights at Bellator 268 last night (Sat., Oct. 16, 2021), the finale of the promotion’s Light Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament was set. In the main event of the evening, current division champion Vadim Nemkov defended his title by submitting a very game Julius Anglickas in the fourth round.
In the opening round of the tournament, Nemkov defeated former champion Phil Davis for the second time to advance to the semifinals. That was one fight removed from Nemkov winning the strap. Nemkov was initially lined up to face Anthony Johnson in the second round, but after “Rumble” bowed out due to medical reasons Anglickas got the call up. With the win, Nemkov improves to 7-0 under the Bellator MMA banner.
In the co-main event, Corey Anderson punched his one-way ticket to the finals by scoring a blistering 51-second knockout over current Heavyweight title holder and former 205-pound champion, Ryan Bader. In the opening round of the tournament, Anderson scored a technical knockout (TKO) win over Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov. Now, “Overtime” will get to compete in his first-ever championship fight.
The winner of the fight will not only be the light heavyweight king and Grand Prix champion, but he will also go home with a $1 million paycheck. And, according to Scott Coker, will hold the title as the best 205-pound fighter on the planet.
The winner of this final is the top 205-pounder on the planet – period. https://t.co/niuUUf3TMu
— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) October 17, 2021
The promotion has to yet to announce when and where the million-dollar championship fight will take place, but one can assume it will likely go down in the first quarter of 2022. You know the players, care to offer up your early predictions?
For complete Bellator 268 play-by-play updates and results click here.