Vadim Nemkov: Fedor Emelianenko has 'really good chances' against Francis Ngannou in boxing
The PFL heavyweight champion trains with Emelianenko, who is 50, has not fought in nearly four years and has said he would be interested in boxing Ngannou.
PFL heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov says his mentor Fedor Emelianenko has “really good chances” of beating Francis Ngannou if the two meet in a boxing match.
“If MVP wants to offer [Emelianenko] a boxing fight, I think that’d be good for the fans, too. He’s ready,” Nemkov told MMA Fighting through a translator. “Believe it or not, he’s still very fast on his feet, very explosive, heavy punch. It’s not easy to hit Fedor, he moves a lot, he has a really good ring movement, so I think he has really good chances against Francis if they box. I think Fedor will win.”
Emelianenko has not fought in nearly four years, since he lost to Ryan Bader for the Bellator championship. He has said he would be interested in boxing Ngannou, ruled out a return to MMA because of injuries, and denied that any talks were under way.
Ngannou boxed Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before he stopped Philipe Lins on the first MVP MMA card in May.
Nemkov defends his PFL title against Sergey Bilostennyi in Dubai on Saturday. “It’s a big honor really to be able to train with him, to be able to be coached by him,” Nemkov said of Emelianenko.
Every UK fight result and what's next, every Friday. Get the free UK fight briefing
More MMA from Combat Sports UK
- Mike Perry re-signs with UFC after Nate Diaz win and Dillon Danis pull-out
- Merab Dvalishvili says he 'would not press charges' after release in Abu Dhabi
- Josh Hokit says he is "rocking with Amanda now" ahead of Nunes v Harrison at UFC 334
- Tommy McMillen, who beat Marwan Rahiki, says he is ready to fight after hospital scare
The UK fight briefing
The stories, results and upcoming fights worth knowing. Every Friday.