Former Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko, in a conversation with a SE correspondent, reacted to the league’s decision to remove the Russian flag when introducing Vadim Nemkov before the Bellator 277 fight .
“Our athletes competed at the Olympics without a flag,” Shlemenko told SE. — A sad, but familiar story now. At many competitions, our athletes went out without a flag. Vadim is not the first and, unfortunately, not the last. How will this affect Nemkov? It would only have a positive effect on me. I would be more evil. I don’t know how it will affect him. As we can see, on the example of Peter Yan, this had a bad effect on him, he lost the battle. Let’s see how psychologically stable Vadim will be. The conditions are very difficult. But the prize will be more valuable! The output will be many times greater. Imagine how all the media will react. Defeat an American in the USA without your flag. It will cost a lot. Winning in enemy territory is a historic moment for Nemkov. It can be a very big success. Much more motivation.”
29-year-old Nemkov will fight American Corey Anderson at the Bellator 277 tournament. This will be the light heavyweight Grand Prix final.
The winner will receive $1 million and the Bellator light heavyweight title currently held by Nemkov.
