A heavyweight showdown between Vadim Nemkov and Ante Delija will serve as the co-main event of the inaugural card of PFL’s Champions Series Dubai show on Jan. 25 in the United Arab Emirates, the company announced Friday.
Guilherme Cruz is a Brazilian journalist covering combat sports since 2008.
The lineup will be topped by a previously announced Bellator lightweight title fight between champion Usman Nurmagomedov and rising challenger Paul Hughes.
Nemkov (18-2, 1 no contest) is a former Bellator light heavyweight king who now competes in the heaviest of the divisions. In his debut fight at heavyweight for PFL, Nemkov tapped out Bruno Cappelozza in the second round.
Unbeaten since 2016 and ranked No. 11 on the MMA Fighting rankings, the 32-year-old Russian talent reigned at 205 pounds with Bellator victories over Ryan Bader, Phil Davis, Corey Anderson and Yoel Romero.
Delija (24-6) won the 2022 season of the PFL at heavyweight to claim a $1 million prize with four wins that year, including a first-round knockout over Renan Ferreira. The Croatian fighter only competed twice ever since, defeating Maurice Greene via decision in 2023, and losing by knockout to Valentin Moldavsky earlier this year.
