Julius Anglickas has been thrust into a title shot.
On Saturday’s Bellator 266 broadcast, it was announced that Anglickas (10-1) has been selected to replace Anthony Johnson in the ongoing light heavyweight grand prix and will fight Vadim Nemkov (14-2) for the 205-pound championship at Bellator 268 on Oct. 16 following Johnson’s withdrawal due to an illness. The change was first reported by Newsday.
Anglickas was originally scheduled to fight fellow grand prix alternate Karl Albrektsson. Albrektsson now fights Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov on the preliminary portion of the Oct. 16 card.
In three appearances for Bellator, Anglickas is 3-0, all by unanimous decision. He most recently defeated Gregory Millard at Bellator 257 in April, his ninth straight victory overall.
Should Anglickas defeat Nemkov, he would not only claim Nemkov’s title, he would advance to the finals of the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix where he would face the winner of the Ryan Bader vs. Corey Anderson semifinal bout that is also scheduled for Bellator 268.
Nemkov won the title from Bader in August of last year and successfully defended it with a unanimous decision win over Phil Davis in the opening round of the grand prix this past April. He is 6-0 in Bellator and has won eight straight fights.