Vadim Nemkov when he found out 'Rumble' Johnson had signed w/ Bellator...

Rumble vs Viktor Nemkov

should be the welcome fight to the company.

then rumble can call out the brother
I was thinking this exactly. Based on Rumbles ring rust and Viktors solid resume, I could see this being a competitive fight. Definitely a solid Co-main or Main and sets up Rumble perfectly.
 
Yes, Bellator has a solid path to a competitive LHW title for the next 2 years at least. Nemkov vs Davis 2 is happening next, according to Coker. Nemkov/Davis vs Corey Anderson next. winner of that fight vs Rumble eventually, if Rumble wins a tune up fight or two in the upcoming months. From there you have Anglickas and Yagshimuradov making their case next.
I’m hoping Albrektsson makes his way to the title picture eventually as well. Been waiting to see them run that one back.
 
I love me some rumble and his KOs but are we really gonna act like he hasn’t been choked a bunch of times.
 
Rumble has a decent chance during the first 2-3 minutes. After that, Nemkov will almost surely finish him.

There's also the big question as whether Rumble's heart is still into fighting.
 
Rashad was on Morning Kombat yesterday and said that Rumble has lost the excess weight, is near fight shape right now and can make the cut to 205 in a few weeks if he needed to.

I'm taking it with a huge grain of salt because they're longtime friends and teammates, but it's what Rashad said.
I don’t think weight will be an issue. UberRumble was not a stable state, that was the product of steroids he wouldn’t be taking at this point (even if he still is on steroids) if you know what I mean.

There have been tweets establishing that rumble is back to normal size for a solid 6+ months. (Assuming you believe them)


Also factor in that he did at one point make 170 Numerous times, his frame is not THAT big to sustain 230+.


I don’t suspect weight to be an issue for Rumble, unless for some reason they did a short notice fight but that would be pretty stupid so I doubt we will see that.
 
Rumble has a decent chance during the first 2-3 minutes. After that, Nemkov will almost surely finish him.

There's also the big question as whether Rumble's heart is still into fighting.

Depends if he's anything like he was 3 years ago. Nemkov is great, but he's no prime DC.
 
Rumble has a decent chance during the first 2-3 minutes. After that, Nemkov will almost surely finish him.

There's also the big question as whether Rumble's heart is still into fighting.

Rumble had good cardio at 205 when he wasn't being forced to wrestle.

He pushed a pace on Davis for all three rounds of their fight.
 
They need showcase Rumble's striking, and not rush him into titleshot.
 
I thought Rumble was fighting at HW, but if he fights 205 I think Nemkov will beat him. Rumble is old, retired once, and is limited in some areas despite his hig power. Nemkov ragdolls him to the mag and taps him.
 
Very interesting to see that Yoel Romero has now signed w/ Bellator and will compete in their 205lb division. Bellator actually has an entertaining Light Heavyweight division now, IMO.
 
I'll never forgive Rumble after he essentially threw the Cormier fight. Like seriously, why did one of the most devastating punchers try to take down an Olympic wrestler in the first round?
 
Due to his time off, they'll probably give him a fight that he should be favored to win, then a top fight, then a title fight. That'd be my guess.
 
I'll never forgive Rumble after he essentially threw the Cormier fight. Like seriously, why did one of the most devastating punchers try to take down an Olympic wrestler in the first round?

Cuz he was facing a guy he couldn't melt with his power that actually punched back. Seriously, Rumble got hit with an overhand from Cormier and decided that this stand up thing wasn't gonna work so he decided to fall back on his JuCo 'rasslin' credentials against... an Olympian.

It sounds stupid cuz it was.
 
I feel like he probably is quite happy. Rumble is a pretty big name amd hesnt really been training as an active fighter for a long time.

If I were him id be campaigning to get the fight right away amd take him out before Rumble gets into the swing of things.
 
Who are the best LHWs outside UFC and Bellator? In other words, who could be instant contenders or good additions to those divisions right now? I can only think of Sordi and Narkun, LHW cant be that shallow, can it?
 
Who are the best LHWs outside UFC and Bellator? In other words, who could be instant contenders or good additions to those divisions right now? I can only think of Sordi and Narkun, LHW cant be that shallow, can it?

Depends on what you mean by "contender" but Rashid Yusupov would be a great pickup imo, even if he wouldn't be near the title for a while. He's hit a rough patch but he's still only 28 and is 1 - 1 with Viktor Nemkov, his best years are still ahead of him. With his very technical fading and countering style I feel like he does much better when he can prepare for a specific opponent (outside the PFL tournament format). He had a ton of trouble countering and stopping the wrestling of Viktor their last fight, whereas he seemed consistently a step ahead the first time. I guess you could include Jordan Johnson, but he's already 32 and has plateaued as a mid-tier blanket, I just don't think he's going to develop much more, I don't see him being a contender in the future. Stephan Puetz is on a nice can-crushing run right now, he might be worth filling out the middle tier of a division with.

But yeah, other than Sordi who's locked down in the PFL, and Narkun locked in KSW, pretty much all the bright prospects from mid-high tier orgs have been split between the UFC and Bellator. As a lot of people have commented, I think Bellator was actually a step ahead with notable free agent LHW signings the last few years; UFC picked up Jiri and Khadis Ibragimov (he REALLY sucks now unfortunately), whereas Bellator got both Nemkov Brothers, Yagshimuradov, Albrektsson, Biyong.
 
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