Vadim Nemkov is PFL’s baddest man on the planet. And he wants Francis Ngannou next.
Saturday’s PFL Lyon main event proved to be a coronation for Nemkov as he handled Renan Ferreira with ease before finishing with an arm-triangle choke submission with a minute left in the first round to become the league’s inaugural heavyweight champion.
Nemkov was later interviewed cageside and he made it clear that while he’s open to fighting whoever the PFL wants to put in the SmartCage with him, his No. 1 option is Ngannou.
“I’ll fight anybody the company wants me to, but I really want to fight Francis,” Nemkov said (via a Russian translator).
Watch Nemkov’s impressive finish below.
The towering Ferreira was fighting for the first time since a loss to Ngannou in October 2024 and, as always, he loomed as a knockout threat over the shorter Nemkov. However, Ferreira’s 6-foot-8 frame was neutralized early as Nemkov went to his wrestling to put Nemkov on his back.
On the mat, the size disparity meant nothing, and Nemkov methodically worked to wear Ferreira down with ground-and-pound and arm-triangle choke attempts. Ferreira showed lively submission defense, but couldn’t improve his position, and Nemkov as able to get into arm-triangle position before cinching in the hold for the win.
The official time of the stoppage was 4:00 into Round 1.
Nemkov (19-2, 1 NC) previously reigned as Bellator light heavyweight champion before moving up to heavyweight and submitting Timothy Johnson and Bruno Cappelozza to earn the chance to become a two-division champion. He now targets Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion who never lost his title in the octagon before joining PFL in 2023.
Ferreira (13-5, 3 NC) loses consecutive fights for the first time in his 12-year career and suffers his first submission loss since 2016.
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