Liam McGeary vs. Vadim Nemkov official for February's Bellator 194

A light heavyweight matchup between a former champion and a contender on the rise is now official for next month’s Bellator 194 event.

MMAjunkie today learned from Bellator officials that Liam McGeary (12-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) will indeed take on Vadim Nemkov (8-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at the event, which takes place Feb. 16 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Nemkov first revealed the plans to Russian outlet Tass.ru.

The night’s main card airs on Paramount following prelims on MMAjunkie.

McGeary, 35, is currently ranked No. 15 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light heavyweight rankings. Still, the Englishman is looking to rebound from a May submission loss to perennial contender Linton Vassell. McGeary is looking to work through some recent challenges, opening his career with a perfect mark through his first 11 professional bouts but currently sitting at 1-2 in his past three appearances.

Meanwhile, Nemkov, 25, is a Russian prospect who made his promotional debut in August, scoring a first-round knockout win over Philipe Lins at Bellator 182. All eight of Nemkov’s career wins have come by way of first-round stoppage, including seven by way of knockout.

Bellator 194 now includes:

• Roy Nelson vs. Matt Mitrione – heavyweight grand prix opening round
• Derek Campos vs. Patricky Freire
• Liam McGeary vs. Vadim Nemkov
• Heather Hardy vs. Ana Julaton
• Nicholas Giulietti vs. Ross Richardson
• Dean Hancock vs. Marcus Surin

For more on Bellator 194, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.