Nemkov vs Bilostenniy: PFL heavyweight title on the line between 2 Fedor pupils on November 14 in Dubai
Nemkov vs Bilostenniy headlines PFL Dubai on Saturday, November 14 at the Coca-Cola Arena. Vadim Nemkov makes the 1st defense of his heavyweight title against Sergey Bilostenniy, ranked No. 3 in the division. The 2 Russians come from Fedor Emelianenko’s team. The champion has not lost in more than 10 years, the challenger has just beaten former champion Renan Ferreira.
Key takeaways
- Vadim Nemkov (20-2) defends his PFL heavyweight title against Sergey Bilostenniy (15-4) on November 14 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
- Nemkov, 34, took the belt in December 2025 by submitting Renan Ferreira in round 1. He has won his 3 heavyweight fights by submission.
- Bilostenniy, ranked No. 3, has 4 wins in 5 PFL fights, including a round 3 TKO of Ferreira in May.
Nemkov vs Bilostenniy, the matchup
Date and venue
PFL Dubai takes place on Saturday, November 14, 2026 at the Coca-Cola Arena. The heavyweight title fight is the main event, the promotion announced on September 7.
The same school
Champion and challenger are tied to Fedor Emelianenko’s team. The PFL presents Nemkov as the protege of the former Pride champion, and Bilostenniy trains under the same banner in Moscow.
The rest of the card
Oleg Popov (23-2), the No. 1 heavyweight, faces unbeaten Pouya Rahmani (6-0). At welterweight, Belgium’s Patrick Habirora, 9-0, meets Egypt’s Omar El-Dafrawy.
Vadim Nemkov, a champion unbeaten for more than 10 years
The record
Vadim Nemkov, 34, has 20 wins and 2 losses. He has not lost in more than 10 years, MMASucka notes. The PFL ranks him No. 2 pound for pound.
The move to heavyweight
A former Bellator light heavyweight champion from 2020 to 2024, he moved up to heavyweight in 2024. He has won 3 fights there, all by submission.
The title
In December 2025 he became the inaugural PFL heavyweight champion by submitting Renan Ferreira with an arm-triangle choke in round 1.
Dubai has become a special city for PFL and the site of some unforgettable moments in our history.
Sergey Bilostenniy, the challenger who beat Ferreira
His PFL run
Sergey Bilostenniy has 15 wins and 4 losses, with 11 finishes according to MMASucka. In the PFL he has won 4 of his 5 fights, notably against Karl Williams and Tyrell Fortune.
The win that earned the shot
In May he stopped Renan Ferreira by TKO in round 3. That result, against the man Nemkov beat for the title, is what earned him his chance.
Follow the fight
Vadim Nemkov’s and Sergey Bilostenniy’s profiles, their records and their ratings are in the FightHub app.
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