When it comes to the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, it’s uncommon for a fighter to go from unranked straight into the top five. And yet, that’s the case this week with Vadim Nemkov . Nemkov, previously left out at light heavyweight, defeated Ryan Bader this past Friday at Bellator 244 to become the 205-pound champion, and he didn’t just win. He steamrolled his way with a vicious second-round TKO to become the first Russian to claim an MMA organization’s light heavyweight belt.
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MMA rankings report: In comes new Bellator champ Vadim Nemkov from out of nowhere – MMA Junkie