Fight Facts: Bellator 268 ‘Nemkov vs. Anglickas’

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR FIGHTS: 2,982
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR EVENTS: 270

Bellator MMA took on the Ultimate Fighting Championship and came out on top with bigger names and more dramatic marquee billings. The show in Arizona mostly saw local fighters fare poorly, but the stage is now set for the light heavyweight tournament finals. Bellator 268 featured a tale of two semifinals, an odd round-based distinction for the victorious headliner and a slew of big betting favorites all cashing their tickets.

Varied Attack: At the end of the night, five bouts had ended by submission, each with a different maneuver. Bellator 268 ties multiple events for the sixth-most unique submissions pulled off at the same card. Bellator 226 saw seven different sub types throughout the night.

Their Parlay Was -138: Five of the 13 fighters on the card – including Maria Henderson’s amateur tilt – closed as betting favorites above -500. All five of those heavily favored won by stoppage.

One Scare, Then Domination: Defending his light heavyweight crown and advancing to the tournament finals, Vadim Nemkov submitted Julius Anglickas with a kimura in the fourth round. The finish in Round 4 is the 12th in Bellator history, but the first to come at any weight above 188.1 pounds.

Odd Company: The second title defense for Nemkov ended with his hand getting raised, tying the Russian with Emanuel Newton for the most consecutive defenses at 205 pounds.

Merciful Maneuver: With the stoppage coming at the 4:25 mark of the fourth frame, Nemkov secured the seventh-latest win in company history. It is the latest kimura ever performed under the Bellator banner.

Annual Armlock: For the first time in a year and a day, a fighter landed a kimura in the Bellator cage as Nemkov pulled one off. The last came at Bellator 249 on Oct. 15, 2020, by Aviv Gozali over Logan Neal.

A Mostly Big-Man Sub: More kimuras have come from 205-pound fighters than any other weight class. The welterweight division maintains the second-most, but only two have come at 170 pounds in the last four years.

Fear the FedorTeam Standout: As a pro, Nemkov now sports a high finish rate of 86% after submitting Anglickas. Three of the last four victories for the Bellator light heavyweight champ have come inside the distance.

Well-Rounded Skillset: With his fourth-round stoppage in the books, Nemkov is now the proud owner of wins in the first, second, third and fourth rounds as a Bellator fighter. Only one other competitor in organizational history has ever achieved this feat: Patricio Freire.

I Kinda Like It Here: Corey Anderson punched his ticket to the finals against Nemkov by punching out Ryan Bader in 51 seconds. Now with a 50% career knockout rate, Anderson had never before recorded a trio of knockouts in a row until joining Bellator.

Career Twilight Blues: Dropping a decision to Brent Primus, Benson Henderson suffered his sixth loss in the Bellator cage. He has fallen short more times in the Bellator cage than in his 20-fight combined UFC-World Extreme Cagefighting tenure (four).

No Toothpick: Only 10 fighters throughout Bellator history have suffered more defeats in its cage than Henderson. The record for the most stands tied with Georgi Karakhanyan and Saad Awad, with 10 apiece.

Say It Again, Big John: Snaring Jaleel Willis in a guillotine choke, Mukhamed Berkhamov improved his professional record to 14-0. Eleven of those wins, including six of his last seven, have come inside the distance.

Farewell Chunty Boy: Before the scorecards were read, Javier Torres left his gloves in the center of the cage and donned a lucha libre mask. “Chunty Boy” claimed a split decision over Gregory Milliard, then said goodbye to the sport on a win streak while earning his first victory in the Bellator cage.

The Second Coming of Ilima-Lei: The third appearance of Sumiko Inaba’s career – all with Bellator – ended well when she submitted Randi Field with an arm-triangle choke. The Hawaiian flyweight has yet to go the distance as a pro.

Family Ties: Lance Gibson Jr. is now a flawless 5-0 as a pro after putting Raymond Pina away with strikes. That perfect young record comes with an 80% finish rate.

Off to the Races: All four fights for Jaylon Bates under the Bellator lights have ended successfully for the 24-year-old, who submitted Raphael Montini de Lima with an armbar. Since taking a decision over Joseph Supino in his debut a year ago, “New Breed” has rattled off a trio of tapouts in 2021.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into Bellator 268, Vladyslav Parubchenko (17 fights) and Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (25 fights) had never dropped consecutive bouts, Willis had never been submitted (17 fights) and Pina had never been knocked out (13 fights).