Former Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho made the move to light heavyweight Saturday night, hoping to take his first step toward another title.
Consider him off to a bad start.
Carvalho never quite settled in against Vadim Nemkov, who took the fight to him for most of two rounds before winning by rear-naked choke at the 3:56 mark of the second frame. The Bellator 230 main event took place at Allianz Cloud in Milan and aired on Paramount/DAZN via tape delay.
If Carvalho had plans of taking his time to get acclimated, Nemkov made sure it didn’t happen. Just seconds into the first round, Nemkov threw an inside leg kick that set up a head kick, which was partially blocked by Carvalho but still rattled him. Nemkov controlled Carvalho on the mat for a couple of minutes before the fight went back to standing. Late in the first round, Nemkov again stunned Carvalho, but this time with a straight right that backed him against the fence.
After such a strong display in the first, Nemkov must’ve come out with confidence in Round 2. About 1 minute in, he connected with an overhand right as he caught a body kick from Carvalho, who couldn’t seem to find his distance. A takedown by Nemkov got the fight to the mat, where Nemkov took his time in half guard before transitioning to mount with his legs vined in. Nemkov proceeded to pelt Carvalho with short elbows and punches. Carvalho had no answer and gave up his back, leading to the rear-naked choke finish.
It was a good night for Nemkov and his team, which included Fedor Emelianenko. For Carvalho, he’s now lost three of his last four after a 15-fight winning streak that ended in 2017.
Bellator 230 results: Vadim Nemkov spoils Rafael Carvalho's LHW debut, wins by choke
