Both Champions retained their titles at Bellator 290 in an exciting night of fights from the Kia Forum in California. In the main event, Heavyweight Champion Ryan Bader finished the legend Fedor Emelianenko via TKO. Johnny Eblen and Anatoly Tokov put on a five-round battle that saw Eblen win a Unanimous Decision. Also, on the card, an exciting fight between Brennan Ward and Sabah Homasi entertained the Los Angeles crowd.

(C) Ryan Bader (30-7) vs #3 Fedor Emelianenko (40-6)

The Main Event of Bellator 290 was a Heavyweight Championship rematch between Ryan Bader and living legend Fedor Emelianenko. Bader previously finished Emelianenko in the final of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix in 2019. Bader is a former UFC contender who has found great success inside the Bellator cage. Coming into this contest Bader had won his last two title fights against Cheick Kongo and Valentine Maldovsky. Emelianenko is the former Pride Heavyweight Champion in Japan and at one time was the most dominant fighter in the world.

This fight was over almost as soon as it started. When the fight began Bader immediately pressured Emelianenko against the fence showing no respect for his punching power. Bader seemed to carry a significant amount of confidence into this fight from their previous meeting and got the job in a similar fashion. Two minutes into the first round Bader was able to connect with a right hand that landed behind the ear of Emelianenko. This punch rocked the Russian Legend and forced him to fall to the ground. Bader then followed Emelianenko to the floor and finished the fight with ground and pound.

After this dominant victory, Bader has run through most of the Heavyweight Division in Bellator. A rematch against Fedor Emelianenko’s protege Vadim Nemkov could be upcoming for Bader, who was knocked out and lost his title to Nemkov at 205 pounds. If a rematch between the two is scheduled Nemkov would certainly be a betting favorite.

(C) Johnny Eblen (12-0) vs Anatoly Tokov (31-2)

In the Co-Main event of Bellator 290 newly crowned Middleweight Champion Johnny Eblen made the first defense of his title against surging Russian Prospect Anatoly Tokov. Eblen is a former Division I wrestler at the University of Missouri. Tokov is a master of sport in Combat Sambo. This fight was an interesting clash of styles as both fighters are dominant grapplers. Eblen took the title off long-reigning champion Gegard Mousasi in his last fight and is one of the best fighters on Bellator’s roster.

Round one started with both fighters feeling each other out on their feet. Eblen applied pressure early as Tokov was attempting to keep him at distance with hard right hands. Eblen was the aggressor in round one as both fighters decided to stand and trade for the entire round. Round two was Tokov’s best round of the fight. As Eblen tried to back Tokov up he ate a right hand that staggered him momentarily. Eblen was able to recover before the end of the round and realized that he needed to attempt to take the fight to the ground. That’s exactly what Eblen was able to do as he landed four takedowns in the following round. Eblen had a firm body lock on Tokov and was able to continually drag him down.

Championship Rounds

In rounds, Four and Five Eblen took advantage of his world-class wrestling and smothered Tokov with relentless takedown attempts. Eblen showed how well-rounded he was in this fight out landing Tokov on the feet while also controlling the contest on the ground. This was an incredible performance in the career of Johnny Eblen who showed he was a step ahead of the rest of the division. Tokov was a serious challenge to Eblen’s Middleweight title, but he cruised to a unanimous decision victory in this contest. After the fight, Eblen expressed interest in fighting the winner of Gegard Mousasi and Fabian Edwards.

#8 Sabah Homasi (17-10) vs Brennan Ward (16-6)

The first fight on the Bellator 290 main card featured a highly entertaining fight between No.8 Sabah Homasi and Bellator veteran Brennan Ward. Homasi had finished his last two opponents heading into this contest and was looking to make a run up the Welterweight rankings. Ward took a five-year absence from the sport from 2017-2022 but won by knockout in his last two fights since his return. Round one started at an incredibly high pace as Homasi backed Ward to the fence landing damaging leg kicks at distance. Homasi was able to open Ward up in the first round as he was bleeding from the nose. Homasi was very aggressive in this fight throwing caution to the wind and trying to land massive punches. After a back-and-forth first round, Homasi was able to pull ahead.

Homasi seemed to be tired as the fight went on. In the second round Ward was able to secure multiple takedowns slamming Homasi to the mat within the first two mins. Each fighter seemed willing to stay on the inside and exchange punches in the clinch. Midway through round two Ward uncorked a head kick that floored Homasi. Homasi was in a bad spot doing anything he could to survive. After 15 unanswered punches, the referee was forced to call an end to the contest. Ward defeated Homasi by TKO to move to 3-0 since his return to the promotion. Ward should find himself inside the official Bellator Welterweight rankings next week after this impressive performance.

Bellator 290 Prelims:

The Bellator 290 Prelims were filled with highly competitive matchups and entertaining finishes. Former UFC contender Lorenz Larkin scored an incredible first-round knockout over the undefeated Mukhamed Berkhamov (14-0). Larkin landed a well-timed elbow in the clinch that immediately face-planted his opponent. Larkin looked fantastic and should be matched up against a top-ranked contender in his next fight. With this victory, Larkin is now on an eight-fight unbeaten streak with Bellator.

In the first fight of the night, Darrion Caldwell faced Russian prospect, Nikita Mikhailov. Caldwell was able to secure a takedown early in round one and remained on top for the majority of the round. In round two Mikhailov was able to defend Caldwell’s takedowns early and land some effective jabs at range. Caldwell, however, was able to take Mikhailov down toward the end of the round. Round three was Mikhailov’s best round as he got the better of Caldwell on the feet. This was an extremely close fight with the judges awarding the decision to Mikhailov (29-28).

Other Bellator 290 Prelim Fights:

Another closely contested matchup took place on the Bellator 290 prelims when undefeated Heavyweights Ali Isaev (9-0) and Steve Mowry (10-0) put on an absolute battle. Isaev is a former European wrestling champion who easily took Mowry down in round one. Isaev was dominant in the first round and looked completely in control of the fight. In round two Mowry was again taken down but quickly reversed position and mounted Isaev. Once Mowry got to full mount, he was able to land devastating ground and pound that looked to be the end of the fight. Isaev was tough enough to survive the round in a terrible position but possibly gave up a 10-8 round. Isaev was able to battle back in round three and utilized his wrestling to control Mowry for the entire round. The judges saw this contest as a unanimous draw (28-28,28-28,28-28).

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