Bellator 288 is headlined by a Light heavyweight championship bout between the champion, Russian Vadim Nemkov, and his challenger, American Corey Anderson. The bout, which is a rematch of the Grand Prix Final held this past April, will take place at the Wintrust Arena in “Windy City” Chicago. The first installment, held at Bellator 277, ended in a stalemate when the fight was declared a “no contest” after an accidental clash of heads cut up Nemkov and caused the fight to be stopped. The winner of this battle will be awarded a $1 million grand prize and the tournament title.
MMA: Bellator Light Heavyweight
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago
Date: 19-11-2022, 07:25
Where to watch: Showtime
Vadim Nemkov
The 30-year-old Russian light heavyweight is a four-time Combat Sambo world champion and is currently number two in the Bellator men’s pound-for-pound rankings. He debuted in Bellator in 2017 with a perfunctory victory. He then secured three consecutive wins over former Bellator title holders before capturing the light heavyweight championship from Ryan Bader at Bellator 242 in 2020. Currently undefeated in the promotion, he easily reached the finals of the Bellator Light heavyweight world Grand Prix tournament where his final against Corey Anderson was stopped after a cut to his left brow from an accidental clash of heads made it impossible for him to continue. Nemkov is a protégé of Fedor Emelianenko, the MMA heavyweight and Sambo master. Nemkov is 7-0 in Bellator.
Tale of the Tape
- Age: 30
- Height: 6”
- Weight: 205 lb
- Reach: 76”
- Total: 18
- Record: 15-2-1
Corey Anderson
After a successful career in the UFC, American Corey Anderson signed with Bellator and debuted in November 2020 with a win against Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 251. The number one ranked Bellator heavyweight defeated former Bellator light heavyweight champion and current heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in the semifinals of the Grand Prix to set up the botched final match with Nemkov. He notched wins over Jan Blachowicz, Grover Teixeira, and Johnny Walker in his UFC career. The 33-year-old is on a three-match win streak in BMMA.
Tale of the Tape
- Age: 33
- Height: 6’ 3”
- Weight: 205 lb
- Reach: 79”
- Total: 22
- Record: 16-5-1
Betting odds
The champ is the underdog here as he is priced at 2.80 odds on Bet365. The favorite Corey Anderson is priced at 1.44 odds. 1xbet has 2.47 odds for the fight to go the distance. Going for the fight to be won inside the distance comes at 1.48 odds on 1Xbet. Betway is listing under 3.5 rounds at 1.68 odds and over 3.5 rounds at 1.65 odds.