Feb. 4th is set to be a historic night from the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. The main event of Bellator 290 will be a Heavyweight Title rematch between champion Ryan Bader and living legend Fedor Emelianenko. This contest will represent the final time Emelianenko will compete in the sport he helped grow. Emelianenko has stated that he will retire after this fight but first has his sights set on avenging his 2019 knockout loss to Bader. In the Co-main event, newly crowned Middleweight Champion Johnny Eblen (12-0) will make his first title defense against surging Russian prospect Anatoly Tokov (31-3). Bellator 290 will have a three-fight main card starting at 8 pm on CBS.
(C) Ryan Bader (30-7) vs #3 Fedor Emelianenko (40-6)
The Illustrious career of Fedor Emelianenko will come to a close this weekend in what will truly be an end of an era. Emelianenko (46 years old) is the former Pride Heavyweight Champion in Japan where he went undefeated in 14 fights from 2002-2006. Emelianenko is arguably the greatest heavyweight in Mixed Martial Arts history. He holds notable victories over hall of fame competitions (Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Nogueira 2x, and Mark Coleman 2x). Fedor has strung together back-to-back knockout wins over Quinton ” Rampage” Jackson and Timothy Johnson. Since his knockout victory in 2019, Bader is 3-2 with two knockout losses to Cory Anderson and Vadim Nemkov. Both of those losses came in the Light Heavyweight division, however.
In his last two fights, Bader was able to move back up to Heavyweight and earn victories over Cheick Kongo and Emelianenko’s protege Valentine Moldavsky. Bader is looking to make the fourth defense of his Bellator Heavyweight title and is currently a -240 favorite (FanDuel). Bader is a two-time All-American wrestler from Arizona State University and utilized his takedowns well in his last two wins. In their first fight, Bader connected with a lunging left hook that knocked Emelianenko down thirty seconds into the contest. Having previously knocked Emelianenko out in the first round Bader may look to keep the fight standing. Emelianenko is no longer the most dominant force in the sport, but he still possesses the power to end anyone’s night. If Bader isn’t careful this could be a historic title win for “The Last Emperor”
Prediction
If I had to predict this fight I would go with Ryan Bader and youth. Bader is a former UFC veteran and is 39 years old, the speed and strength of Bader could cause problems for Emelianenko much as they did before. I fear that the reflexes of Emelianenko may have diminished over there years, which is natural for anyone fighting over 45. This caused him problems in his first fight with Bader as he was unable to react to certain punches like he used to. I do not expect this fight to go to the distance as both competitors have been known to finish fights early.
I believe this will be a highly entertaining fight and Ryan Bader will win by second-round TKO. With that being said, as an MMA fan there is nothing I’d want more than to see Fedor go out on top. Unfortunately, this is not how things have shaken out historically in the sport. Recently legends such as Shogun Rua, Frankie Edgar, and Jose Aldo all retired after KO losses. I hope Emelianenko will have a happier ending to his story.
(C) Johnny Eblen (12-0) vs Anatoly Tokov (31-3)
The Co-Main event of Bellator 290 will feature a Middleweight Championship fight between Johnny Eblen and Anatoly Tokov. Eblen is coming off a dominant victory over former champion Gegard Mousasi to capture the title. Eblen (31 years old) is in the prime of his career and is one of Bellator’s best young stars. Having wrestled at the University of Missouri in college, Eblen has dominated opponents on the ground in his eight fights inside the promotion. Tokov is 7-0 inside the Bellator cage and has fought high-level competition in Russia and Japan. Tokov is a dominant force on the ground which makes this matchup an interesting clash of styles.
Because each fighter is so good on the ground, I see this fight taking place on the feet. Both competitors have tremendous takedown defense and may choose to stand and trade over five rounds. This is a highly competitive matchup between two of the best 185-pound fighters in the world. Eblen just went five rounds to win the championship and has some of the best conditioning in the division. Tokov is a powerful force but has yet to go five rounds in his professional career.
Currently, Eblen is a -205 favorite (FanDuel) which I believe may be overvalued. Tokov stylistically could possess problems for the champion having 17 knockouts and seven submissions on his record. Out of Eblen’s twelve pro fights he has won six by decision. While both are impressive on the floor, Eblen seems to be the more fluid striker. I do not believe that either fighter will finish the other and this will be a close fight throughout. My prediction for this Middleweight Championship fight is Johnny Eblen to win by Decision.
Sabah Homasi (17-10) vs Brennan Ward (16-6)
Kicking off the main card on CBS are exciting Bellator welterweights Sabah Homasi and Brennan Ward. Fans will want to be tuned in early as each of these fighters is known to find the knockout. Homasi (11 Ko’s) is coming off back-to-back finishes over Jaleel Willis and Maycon Mendonca. Ward (11 Ko’s) also has finished his last two opponents since a pair of losses in 2017. Homasi is known for getting into strategic brawls with his opponents, throwing caution to the wind, and firing punches with bad intentions. Ward is a Collegiate wrestler who has shown tremendous power in his hands. Ward was 2-0 last year but previously took five years off from 2017-2022. The time away from the sport may be what Ward needed to come back refreshed, but this will be a significant step up in competition since his return.
With both of these fighters known for pushing the action and coming out aggressive, this fight could end early. This is an important fight in the careers of both competitors, who may find themselves in Bellator’s official rankings with a win.
Bellator 290 Prelims
The Bellator 290 prelims will be live on YouTube at six eastern times and are filled with fun fights. No.7 Neiman Gracie (11-4) will make his return against Dante Schiro (9-4) in a welterweight contest. Gracie is one of the last active members of the historic Gracie family and is looking to get back on track after a knockout loss to Goiti Yamauchi. A matchup of undefeated Heavyweights should be interesting as Steve Mowry (10-0) will face Ali Isaev (9-0). Mowry was the victim of a bad eye pokes in his last fight which forced his fight against Valentine Maldovsky to be stopped. Isaev is 39 years old but went 5-0 inside the PFL in 2019.
Also on the prelims, former UFC veteran Lorenz Larkin (24-7) will have his hands full with Bellator newcomer Mukhamed Berkhamov (15-1). Larkin has won six in a row and hasn’t lost since 2017. Berkhamov has had one fight in the promotion submitting ranked welterweight Jaleel Willis. Before his stint with Bellator Berkhamov submitted ranked Lightweight Tofiq Musayev and knocked out PFL veteran Brett Cooper.
Bellator 290 will be an exciting night from the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. The prelims can be seen on the Bellator and Showtime YouTube channels starting at six eastern times. The main card can be seen on CBS at nine o’clock.
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