UFC loses chance at elite heavyweight who could have shaken up the division

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Mathew Riddle | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 9:46 AM ET

(Zuffa LLC)

Fight politics and UFC greed have allegedly prevented the signing of one of the best heavyweights on the planet, who revealed he's re-signed with UFC rival PFL after they made a better offer.

Russia's Vadim Nemkov has become a sort of 'what-if' in the MMA community, the 33-year-old, 6'2" martial artist has cut his teeth in almost every promotion but the UFC.

At 19-2, he rides a thirteen fight winning streak, defending the Bellator light heavyweight championship four times, with wins over UFC veterans Yoel Romero, Ryan Bader, Phil Davis, and Corey Anderson along the way.

Vadim Nemkov reveals UFC told him they weren't interested in Russian fighters, offered half as much as PFL to fight

In a recent interview with Ushatayka, Nemkov explained that he re-signed with the PFL, after the UFC offered as much as half for his services.

"Now I have signed a new contract with the PFL. When the previous one ended, there were negotiations with the UFC, but misunderstandings arose, plus the conditions are twice as bad as in the PFL," Nemkov said.

"If I were 20-25 years old, I would probably go to the UFC, but otherwise they made it clear to me that they are not particularly interested in fighters from Russia.

"They said that fighters from Russia are not needed yet, because tournaments are not held, you don't really make money on broadcasts, and there are already a lot of champions - Ankalaev, Islam, and Movsar Evloev with Petr Yan can become champions. Khamzat Chimaev is still here, but the situation is a little different there, because he represents the United Arab Emirates." [h/t Fight Time]

Vadim Nemkov would have been welcome in the UFC's waning heavyweight division

As it stands, the UFC's heavyweight division is the weakest weight class next to women's bantamweight. Roughly thirty fighters frequent the roster, and it's no longer the prestige division in terms of quality of talent or big finishes.

With Tom Aspinall as champion, one issue is alarmingly clear, which is the lack of names in the top ten that would either offer him a challenge, or catch fan attention. Nemkov, while relatively unknown to a casual audience, is as revered as any other Russian fighter, and carries a respectable online following.

UFC is putting social media above all else, and Nemkov wouldn't have just fit that criteria, he'd have injected fresh talent into the big man division. Untapped talent is still talent, and fans might never know the true heights a fighter like Nemkov could reach in the UFC.