Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Vadim Nemkov successfully defended his championship and advanced in the Grand Prix on Friday.
Bellator 257 was headlined by the reigning champion earning a unanimous decision win against veteran Phil Davis after five rounds.
Nemkov (13-2) won the championship last August beating Ryan Bader and made his first defense on Friday while moving to the second round of the Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix. Nemkov will fight the winner of the May 7th fight between Anthony Johnson and Yoel Romero.
All three judges agreed with their scores of 48-47. They all scored the first three rounds for Nemkov and the final two for Davis. Media scores at MMA Decisions scored the fight more decisively for Nemkov.
It was Nemkov’s second victory against Phil Davis after defeating Davis by split decision in November 2018 over three rounds.
In the other Grand Prix fight, Corey Anderson (15-5) improved to 2-0 inside Bellator with a third-round TKO stoppage of Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov. The 31-year old Yagshimuradov (18-6-1), a native of Turkmenistan, had not fought since December 2019 and was unbeaten going back to 2015.
Anderson will advance to fight Ryan Bader in the second round of the tournament later this year. Anderson has won six of his previous seven fights, the lone blemish belonging to current UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz.
The main card also saw Veta Arteaga (6-4) earn a majority decision against Desiree Yanez (5-3), and Paul Daley (43-17) channeled his power with a left hook that stopped Sabah Homasi (15-9) in the second round of their 175-pound catchweight fight.
Bellator will take several weeks off and returns with Bellator 258 on Friday, May 7th. The card is headlined by Bellator bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta defending against Sergio Pettis, and the final opening round fight of the Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix with Yoel Romero meeting Anthony Johnson.
Bellator 257 Results:
*Light Heavyweight Championship, Grand Prix Quarterfinal: Vadim Nemkov def. Phil Davis by unanimous decision (48-47 all)
*Grand Prix Quarterfinal: Corey Anderson def. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov by TKO at 2:15 of Round 3
*Veta Arteaga def. Desiree Yanez by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
*Paul Daley def. Sabah Homasi by TKO at 1:44 of Round 2
*Julia Budd def. Dayana Silva by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
*Julius Anglickas def. Gregory Millard by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
*Steve Mowry def. Shayn Asher by TKO at 0:55 of Round 1
*Grachik Bozinyan def. Demarques Jackson by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
*Raymond Daniels def. Peter Stanonik by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
*Lance Gibson Jr. def. Marcus Surin by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
*Karl Abrektsson def. Viktor Nemkov by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
*Mads Burnell def. Saul Rogers by rear-naked choke at 4:08 of Round 2
*Jay-Jay Wilson def. Pedro Carvalho by TKO at 0:53 of Round 2
