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Ryan Bader to face Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 244 while Julia Budd returns

Ryan Bader and Julia Budd return to action at Bellator 244 in the early hours of August 22 - live on Sky Sports

Tuesday 11 August 2020 13:34, UK

Ryan Bader Scott Coker Bellator
Image: Ryan Bader will defend his light-heavyweight title

Bellator will return to the 'FightSphere' at Mohegan Sun Arena in little under two weeks time where Ryan Bader will defend his light-heavyweight title in the first time since 2017.

A winner of seven out of eight contests at both heavyweight and light heavyweight, Bellator's double champion Bader will make his first light heavyweight title defence since defeating "King Mo" Lawal, Matt Mitrione and Fedor Emelianenko en route to winning Bellator's 2018 Heavyweight World Grand Prix and becoming champion.

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Relive Bader's biggest win in his career, beating the legend Fedor Emelianenko in the finals of the Bellator heavyweight GP in 2018

Bader will face Vadim Nemkov, who is undefeated over his last six fights and has a perfect 4-0 in Bellator since signing in 2017.

The 28-year-old Russian will enter his first-ever title shot in MMA fresh off a submission win against former middleweight world champion Rafael Carvalho.

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Bader says that he's ready for Vadim Nemkov

Former Bellator featherweight world champion Julia Budd returns to the cage since losing her title to Cris Cyborg, when she takes on Jessy Miele.

With seven of her 13 career victories coming by way of knockout or submission, "The Jewel" will look to jump back into title contention with a statement win.

With an impressive career mark of 9-3, Miele will look to parlay her most recent win over former Bellator title contender Talita Nogueira when she competes at the event.

Also See:

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John McCarthy believes that Bader doesn't quite the credit that he deserves in the MMA world

Watch Bellator 244 in the early hours of Saturday, August 22, live on Sky Sports

Bellator 244: Bader vs. Nemkov Main Card:

Light Heavyweight World Title Bout: Ryan Bader (27-5, 1 NC) vs. Vadim Nemkov (11-2)

Featherweight Co-Main Event: Julia Budd (13-3) vs. Jessy Miele (9-3)

Heavyweight Feature Bout: Roy Nelson (23-19) vs. Valentin Moldavsky (9-1)

Preliminary Card:

Middleweight Preliminary Bout: John Salter (17-4) vs. Andrew Kapel (15-6)

Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Adam Piccolotti (12-3) vs. Sidney Outlaw (14-4)

Bantamweight Preliminary Bout: Erik Perez (19-7) vs. Joshua Hill (19-3)

Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Lucas Brennan (2-0) vs. Will Smith (3-1)

Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Vladimir Tokov (7-0) vs. Chris Gonzalez (4-0)

Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Lance Gibson Jr. (3-0) vs. Shane Kruchten (12-5)

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