Ryan Bader Announces He'll Defend His Light Heavyweight Title Against Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 244

Two division Bellator world champion Ryan Bader has announced he'll be defending his Light Heavyweight title against Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 244 on August 21.

The fight will be Bader's first at 205lbs since 2017, meaning it will be the first Light Heavyweight title fight in almost three years.

The former UFC star told ESPN that he'd signed on to defend the title at the upcoming Bellator 244 event.

Since his last Light Heavyweight title fight against Linton Vansell back at Bellator 186 on November 3 2017, the 37-year-old moved up to heavyweight and won the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix alongside the vacant heavyweight title and has defended the heavyweight title once.

Bader was originally set to face Nemkov back in May at Bellator 242, but the coronavirus outbreak led to the event being cancelled.

Nemkov is undefeated in Bellator, winning all four of his fights within the organisation.