| Bellator 290: Bader vs. Fedor 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for Bellator 290: Bader vs. Fedor 2 | ||||
| Promotion | Bellator MMA | |||
| Date | February 4, 2023 (2023-02-04) | |||
| Venue | Kia Forum | |||
| City | Inglewood, California, United States | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Bellator 290: Bader vs. Fedor 2 was amixed martial arts event produced byBellator MMA that took place on February 4, 2023, at theKia Forum inInglewood, California, United States. The card aired live onCBS andParamount Plus, the first time the promotion has aired live on the network and the first time MMA has been broadcast live on CBS since 2010.[1]
The event marked the promotion's seventh visit to Inglewood and first sinceBellator 263 in July 2021.[1]
The main event of the Bellator 290 featured MMA veteran and formerPRIDE Heavyweight ChampionFedor Emelianenko's last fight before his retirement. Emelianenko challengedBellator Heavyweight championRyan Bader (also formerBellator Light Heavyweight Champion andThe Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir light heavyweight winner) for the title.[2] The fight, which was the first event of2023 for the promotion, was a rematch of their January 2019 encounter in which Bader defeated his opponent by TKO in the first round to win theBellator Heavyweight World Championship.[3]
The event was shown live onCBS andParamount Plus, marking the first time the promotion has done so and the first time MMA has been broadcast live on the network since 2010.[4]
ABellator Light Heavyweight World Championship bout between current championVadim Nemkov (also theBellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Champion) and former UFC Middleweight title contenderYoel Romero was expected to take place at the event.[5] However, Nemkov withdrew for undisclosed reasons and the bout was cancelled.[6]
ABellator Middleweight World Championship bout between current championJohnny Eblen andAnatoly Tokov served as the new co-main event.[7]
Neiman Gracie and Michael Lombardo were scheduled to face each other at this event.[8] However, two weeks before the event, Lombardo was forced to withdraw from the bout and he was replaced by Dante Schiro.[9]
At the weigh-ins,Diana Avsaragova missed weight for her bout, coming in at 128.8 pounds, 2.8 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Avsaragova was fined 25% of her purse which went toAlejandra Lara.[10]
| Main Card (CBS/Paramount+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Heavyweight | Ryan Bader (c) | def. | Fedor Emelianenko | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:30 | [a] |
| Middleweight | Johnny Eblen (c) | def. | Anatoly Tokov | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [b] |
| Welterweight | Brennan Ward | def. | Sabah Homasi | TKO (head kick and punches) | 2 | 1:34 | |
| Preliminary card (Youtube/Pluto TV) | |||||||
| Welterweight | Lorenz Larkin | def. | Mukhamed Berkhamov | KO (elbow) | 1 | 1:41 | |
| Featherweight | Henry Corrales | def. | Akhmed Magomedov | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Ali Isaev | vs. | Steve Mowry | Draw (unanimous) (28–28, 28–28, 28–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Chris Gonzalez | def. | Max Rohskopf | TKO (punches) | 2 | 1:22 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Grant Neal | def. | Karl Albrektsson | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (128.8 lb) | Diana Avsaragova | def. | Alejandra Lara | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | [c] |
| Bantamweight | Nikita Mikhailov | def. | Darrion Caldwell | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Postliminary card (Youtube) | |||||||
| Welterweight | Yusuf Karakaya | def. | Ethan Hughes | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Isaiah Hokit | def. | Peter Ishiguro | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Jaylon Bates | def. | Jornel Lugo | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Neiman Gracie | def. | Dante Schiro | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to theCalifornia State Athletic Commission. It is important to note the amounts do not include sponsor money, discretionary bonuses, viewership points or additional earnings.[12][13]
After the event, it was announced that the event averaged 1.068 million viewers on CBS.[14]
