Born: June 20, 1992 (Age: 30) in Belgorod, Russia
Division: Light Heavyweight
Height: 6’0”
Reach: 76”
Record: 15-2, 1 NC (8-0, 1 NC Bellator)
Association: Alexander Nevsky
Stage of Career: Prime
Summary: Nemkov is a huge threat as a striker and a grappler while
being exceptionally difficult to exploit in either area. He has
fast hands and a fantastic jab and right cross, which he nails
opponents again and again with a 1-2. He also has quick, technical
kicks to all parts of the body and has even stopped an opponent
with leg kicks. He also has excellent defense, being exceptionally
hard to hit, and a fairly tough chin and good recuperative powers
in the rare times that occurs. He is a beast with his grappling,
able to get takedowns from the clinch or shot with ease against
most opponents. Once an opponent is grounded, he unleashes some of
the best ground-and-pound in MMA history, obliterating foes with a
series of fast, powerful, accurate punches at a ridiculous rate of
fire. He is now almost impossible to take down, even by some of the
best wrestlers in MMA history. Nemkov isn't perfect; he sorely
lacks a left hook, his uppercut isn't much to worry about, and his
top control is limited. However, he is still improving, with a
former weakness, his 5-round cardio, now a significant strength as
of the Anderson rematch, able to fight energetically for all 25
minutes. Nemkov is one of the best fighters in the world and only
getting better.
STRIKING
• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Above average.
• Jab: A darting, quick, straight and technical strike.
• Cross: Surgical, precise and textbook shot with legitimate
knockout power. He turned off
Philipe
Lins’ lights with it.
• Left Hook: Weak. Often a harmless arm punch.
• Overhand Right: Tends toward being an overly wild casting punch,
but he does not use it much.
• Uppercuts: Average at best. He often throws it way too far in
front of his body, and it lacks some power.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: More of a one-shot sniper,
but he makes good use of the combinations he throws.
• Favorite Combinations: The one-two, which combines his two best
punches.
• Leg Kicks: Well-timed, hard and fast. He stopped
Liam
McGeary with them.
• Body Kicks: Solid, especially the front kick to the body.
• Head Kicks: Shows nice flexibility, suddenness and speed with
them, but they lack the kill-shot power to make them truly
special.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: Occasionally.
Nemkov’s striking provides intrigue. He has fairly fast hands, a
strong jab and an outstanding right cross, which he puts together
into a highly effective and accurate one-two. He also has an array
of nice kicks, including front kicks, and uses lighter shots to
bait opponents forward. Nemkov can chain kicks to punches, go
upstairs with head kicks and even stop opponents with leg kicks.
However, he lacks a left hook. It is his weakest punch, and he does
not event put his body into it at times. His uppercuts are also
lacking. However, Nemkov features textbook footwork, excellent ring
movement and generally outstanding defense, including a good sense
of range and head movement. He is quite difficult to hit.
CLINCH
• Physical Strength: A massively powerful light heavyweight who can
outmuscle almost anyone in the weight class.
• Technique: Stellar. Quick at positioning his body and going for
possible takedowns.
• Knees: A viable weapon, but he mostly focuses on takedowns.
• Elbows: Does not throw them in close quarters.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Any opponent who throws them runs
the risk of being taken down.
Nemkov is beastly in terms of physical strength and grappling in
the clinch. He works for judo throws there, and opponents would be
wise to defend themselves rather than looking for their own
offense.
GRAPPLING
• Wrestling from a Shot: Features a technical double-leg on
reaction to an opponent’s strikes, along with an outstanding
single-leg.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Works for judo throws and trips, and he
normally gets them.
• Takedown Defense: All-time great; able to quickly switch to
fighting for underhooks no matter the situation, even turning
defense into offense by taking
Liam
McGeary down off his own attempt. Has fought a slew of all-time
great wrestlers, and managed to nullify
Phil Davis
and
Ryan
Bader, and even
Corey
Anderson in the rematch, one of the best wrestlers in MMA
history.
• Ability to Return to Feet: Serviceable under most circumstances,
as he is able to hip escape and use his physical strength to get
back up. However, an opponent with good top control late enough
into a fight when Nemkov is tired can keep him down, as the first
Anderson fight proved.
• Submissions: Sound. He scored a rear-naked choke on
Rafael
Carvalho, but he prioritizes ground-and-pound, so the depth of
his tool bag is difficult to judge.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Holds up to
scrutiny, though Anderson managed to score against him from the
top.
• Top Control: Often limited, especially since he postures up so
much to strike.
• Ground-and-Pound: Rises to a world-class level. He throws a
series of fast, brutal, hammer-like punches with volume and
accuracy. Nemkov has knocked out multiple opponents on the mat,
some of them quickly. See:
Alison
Vicente.
Nemkov is an absolute monster of a grappler. Very few opponents
can resist his wrestling, as he can attain takedowns with ease from
either a shot or in the clinch. Once on top, he lacks some top
control, but an opponent had better use that, as he has some of the
best ground-and-pound the sport has ever seen, a vicious series of
fast punches that seemingly never end, and have finished many
opponents. Defensively, he is one of the hardest fighters in MMA to
take down, having fought a slew of outstanding wrestlers like Phil
Davis twice, Ryan Bader and Corey Anderson twice, with only
Anderson having some success in their first encounter, but none in
the rematch. Once on the bottom, he can absorb some
ground-and-pound if he doesn't have enough energy to get back up,
though.
INTANGIBLES
• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: A fast, athletic and
massively strong fighter.
• Cardio: Excellent, with significant improvement in the Anderson
rematch, now able to fight well for all 5 rounds.
• Chin: He has taken some massive shots without being knocked out,
though he was clearly hurt.
• Recuperative Powers: A positive to this point. He managed to
recover fairly quickly after eating a crushing blow from
Julius
Anglickas.
• Intelligence: Conducts all of his fights in a smart, patient
manner, all while executing some brilliant set-ups. He always seems
to maximize his chances while limiting the strategic efforts of his
opponents.