Victor Nemkov was born in a small village in Zhalgyskan, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union, now modern-Kazakhstan. In 1999 the family moved to the village Tomarovka, Belgorod Oblast. There, Nemkov began to train in Judo. Having spent some successful tournaments, Nemkov became a "Master of Sport in Judo." Nemkov was the 2008 Russian Combat Sambo bronze medalist in the 90 kg weight category and the 2009 World Cup champion. Nemkov trains at the Red Devil Sport Club; a training facility and team strongly linked with the M-1 Global promotion and Fedor Emelianenko.
M-1 Global
Nemkov began his professional mixed martial arts career with a loss to Magomed Sultanakhmedov via TKO, but quickly rebounded against newcomer Christian Bombay. Nemkov was able to secure a triangle choke on Bombay early in the first round to claim his first victory. Nemkov continued in M-1 with several victories, including one in a fight against Sergey Khramov. Nemkov's toughest challenge at that point came against the vastly experienced Tony Lopez in South Korea. Lopez' experience was perhaps too great, as he walked away with a submission victory via rear naked choke in the second round, handing Nemkov his second career loss. Nemkov then signed to fight Khanilav Khanilaev at the M-1 2009 Finals. Nemkov went onto suffer his third career defeat, losing via split decision. Nemkov would bounce back with a victory over Shamil Vajsurov who, going into the fight, had a record of 0-1. In August 2010, Nemkov was reportedly scouted by World Wrestling Entertainment - whilst on a tour of Russia - who wanted to sign him as a professional wrestler. In April 2011, Nemkov fought Vinny Magalhaes for the vacant M-1 Global Light Heavyweight title. Early on, Magalhaes looked for a takedown, but it was Nemkov who was able to secure top position early on. From there, Nemkov had to defend against multiple submission attempts, including an omoplata which seemed to be almost locked in. From the second round, Magalhaes visibly tired, but still managed to mount Nemkov on a couple of occasions. Magalhaes was able to finish Nemkov in the third round via rare mounted gogoplata with a neck crank. Following the loss, Nemkov went on a four fight winning streak, including a tournament win held over a 4-month span.
