Bellator president Scott Coker called the Bellator 205lbs Grand Prix winner the best light heavyweight fighter in MMA.
On Saturday night at Bellator 268, Vadim Nemkov submitted Julius Anglickas and Corey Anderson knocked out Ryan Bader to advance to the finals of the promotion’s 205lbs Grand Prix. Nemkov is, of course, already the Bellator light heavyweight champion, and he’s defended his belt twice en route to the tournament finals. Anderson, meanwhile, has won all three of his fights in Bellator by knockout and he looks like a completely different fighter since coming over from the UFC. In 2022, Nemkov will meet Anderson in the finals, and according to their boss Coker, the winner will be the world’s top light heavyweight.
“This was a gauntlet of 205ers and whoever wins this tournament, to me, is the best 205er on the planet, period,” Coker said (via MMAjunkie.com).
Right now, the universally-regarded No. 1 light heavyweight fighter is UFC champion Jan Blachowicz. The Pole is coming off of a successful title defense over Israel Adesanya and he also has wins over the likes of Dominick Reyes and even Anderson during his time in the UFC. So even if Anderson runs through the Bellator tournament and upsets Nemkov in the finals, Blachowicz can still say that he has that recent win over Anderson. As for Nemkov, he is a great champion who has run through Bellator’s 205lbs division.
Overall, the Bellator light heavyweight Grand Prix has been a success as Anderson has emerged as somewhat of a star while Nemkov has proven himself to be a solid champion. Coker has said he is open to cross-promotion with the UFC going forward, but UFC president Dana White has always resisted. Until we see that, it’s hard to say who the true top 205lbs really is.
Source: BJpenn.com
