Bellator News
Fedor Emelianenko reveals the favorite fight of his legendary MMA career
Harry Kettle - February 5, 2023
Fedor Emelianenko has revealed his favourite fight from his legendary mixed martial arts career. Last night, the iconic career of Fedor Emelianenko finally came to an end. He took on Ryan Bader in a rematch for the Bellator heavyweight championship, with Bader easily winning the contest via TKO.
Fedor Emelianenko reacts after suffering TKO loss in retirement fight against Ryan Bader
Fernando Quiles - February 5, 2023
Fedor Emelianenko took his final bow at Bellator 290, and he has spoken out following his rematch with Ryan Bader. Emelianenko and Bader collided inside the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California this past Saturday night (February 4). “Darth” was putting the Bellator Heavyweight Championship on the line. Ultimately, Bader successfully retained the gold via first-round TKO. The Bellator 290 main event was the final fight in Emelianenko’s farewell tour.
Pros react after Ryan Bader TKO's Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 290
Chris Taylor - February 4, 2023
Tonight’s Bellator 290 main event featured a heavyweight title fight rematch between Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader. The MMA legend and arguably greatest heavyweight of all time, Emelianenko (40-7 MMA), was making his final cage appearance this evening. ‘The Last Emperor‘ entered the matchup coming off back-to-back first-round knockout victories over Timothy Johnson and Quinton Jackson. Those wins were preceded by a TKO loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 214, in a bout that had lasted just 35-seconds.
Bellator 290 Results: Ryan Bader stops Fedor Emelianenko in Round 1 (Video)
Chris Taylor - February 4, 2023
Tonight’s Bellator 290 main event features a heavyweight title fight rematch between Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader. The MMA legend and arguably greatest heavyweight of all time, Emelianenko (40-6 MMA), will be making his final cage appearance this evening. ‘The Last Emperor‘ is coming off back-to-back first-round knockout victories over Timothy Johnson and Quinton Jackson in his most recent efforts. Those wins were preceded by a TKO loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 214, in a bout that lasted just 35-seconds.
Fedor Emelianenko admits he won't leave MMA behind after retirement similar to Khabib Nurmagomedov: "This sport is in my blood"
Josh Evanoff - February 3, 2023
Bellator heavyweight contender Fedor Emelianenko is retiring from MMA, but he’ll be around. ‘The Last Emperor’ is slated to make the final walk this Saturday against Ryan Bader. The pair will headline Bellator 290, in a rematch for the heavyweight gold. ‘Darth’ previously knocked out the legend in the finals of the heavyweight Grand Prix in 2019.
Roy Jones Jr. expresses interest in exhibition fight with MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko: “We have already somehow negotiated on this subject”
Zain Bando - February 2, 2023
Fedor Emelianenko will enter an MMA cage for what will presumably be his final fight — a heavyweight championship rematch with former UFC light heavyweight and TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader at Bellator 290 Saturday. ‘Darth’ took down Emelianenko with a TKO finish in their first encounter a few years back. A victory for the Arizona native will seal the deal on one of Bellator’s biggest rivalries and solidify Bader’s place as one of the best fighters in promotional history.
Max Rohskopf glad he's getting thrown "right into the mix" at lightweight at Bellator 290, says he doesn't "need to prove anything to anyone"
Cole Shelton - February 2, 2023
Max Rohskopf will finally make his Bellator debut on Saturday at Bellator 290. Rohskopf was supposed to make his debut last October but on the day of the fight, he was scratched from the card after not being cleared by the commission. Rohskopf was frustrated by that as he says he was cleared by three separate doctors to compete.
Bellator Middleweight Rankings: What can we expect in 2023?
bjpenndotcom - February 2, 2023
It’s the start of the year 2023 and Bellator is already kicking off the year with one of the most exciting matches in the Middleweight division. The fighters are ready to score up a notch in their ranking or defend their championship belts! Bellator 290 is fast approaching and is set to showcase 2 World Title Bouts on February 4, 2023, in KIA Forum, Los Angeles, California USA. The current Middleweight Champion, Johnny Eblen will be defending his championship belt against the current number 3 in the middleweight ranking, Anatoly Tokov. Johnny Eblen snatched the middleweight championship belt against the former champion, Gegard Mousasi in a unanimous decision fight in Bellator 282. On the other hand, Anatoly Tokov won over Muhammad Abdullah in dominant technical knockout punches in the first round of the same event, Bellator 282.
Fedor Emelianenko reveals he has no regrets about never fighting in the UFC: "I fought many UFC champions and I was beating them all"
Josh Evanoff - February 1, 2023
Days away from ending his career, Fedor Emelianenko has no regrets. ‘The Last Emperor’ is set to make the final walk this Saturday night at Bellator 290. In the main event, the Russian will look to avenge his defeat to Ryan Bader. ‘Darth’ knocked out Emelianenko in round one in the finals of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix in 2019.
Pro fighters make their picks for Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko 2 title fight
Cole Shelton - February 1, 2023
In the main event of Bellator 290, the heavyweight title is up for grabs as Ryan Bader rematches Fedor Emelianenko, in the Russian’s retirement fight. Heading into the fight, Bader is a -330 favorite while the Russian is a +275 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are unanimous in thinking Bader gets his hand raised again but many are rooting for Emelianenko to get the win.
Ryan Bader believes Cain Velasquez was the “best” heavyweight not Bellator 290 opponent Fedor Emelianenko
Cole Shelton - January 31, 2023
Ryan Bader thinks Cain Velasquez is the best heavyweight ever. The heavyweight GOAT is one many have no clear-cut answer on, as some think it is Velasquez while others lean towards Fedor Emelianenko or even Stipe Miocic. Yet Bader believes Emelianenko’s resume is the best out of anyone but he thinks Velasquez was the most skilled.
Johnny Eblen plans to "maul" Anatoly Tokov at Bellator 290 to defend title, eyes becoming champ-champ soon: "I'm gonna put it on him, man. It's going to be fun"
Cole Shelton - January 31, 2023
Johnny Eblen knew Anatoly Tokov would be next for him. Eblen became Bellator’s middleweight champion last June with a dominant decision win over Gegard Mousasi. After the win, Eblen didn’t know when he would fight but after the Nemkov-Romero scrap was called off, he figured his first title defense would be added to Bellator 290.
Scott Coker reacts to "pretty funny" cancellation of Dillon Danis vs. KSI: "I was really surprised"
Josh Evanoff - January 11, 2023
Bellator president Scott Coker was surprised to see Dillon Danis pull out of his boxing match with KSI. ‘El Jefe’ is an interesting figure in the combat sports community. A former training partner of Conor McGregor and Jiu-Jitsu coach, Danis signed with Bellator in 2017 to begin his MMA career. The subsequent year, he defeated Kyle Walker by first-round submission.
Scott Coker announces Bellator lightweight Grand Prix featuring names like Usman Nurmagomedov and Benson Henderson to begin in March
Josh Evanoff - January 11, 2023
Bellator president Scott Coker has revealed some big plans for this year. The Showtime-based promotion is prone to doing some ideas that are a bit outside the box. Recently, the promotion traveled to Japan to send five of their best fighters against five of RIZIN’s best. Bellator wound up sweeping the matchups, with names like A.J. McKee and Patricio Pitbull picking up big wins.
Former champion A.J. McKee signs multi-year extension with Bellator
Josh Evanoff - January 10, 2023
Former Bellator featherweight champion A.J. McKee will be sticking around in the promotion for the long haul. ‘Mercenary’ is fresh off his decision victory over Roberto de Souza in the main event of Bellator vs. RIZIN last month. The win was also McKee’s second since moving to the lightweight division earlier this year. He previously defeated Spike Carlyle at Bellator 286 in October.
Dillon Danis responds to claims he was unprepared for boxing match against KSI which is why he pulled out
Cole Shelton - January 4, 2023
Dillon Danis says it’s fake news that he was unprepared for KSI. Danis was supposed to headline a Misfits boxing card in London, England on January 14 against YouTuber KSI. However, on Wednesday, KSI’s manager, Mams Taylor, revealed Danis was out of the fight and was told it is because he was unprepared.
Scott Coker reacts after his Bellator fighters go 5-0 against RIZIN on New Years Eve
Susan Cox - January 2, 2023
Scott Coker is reacting after his Bellator fighters went a perfect 5-0 against Rizin on New Years Eve. Coker, 60, the current president of Bellator can’t hide the pride he has in his promotion closing out 2022 with a clean sweep this past Saturday, December 31st.
VIDEO | Johnny Case has hilarious weigh-in with naked Nobumitsu Osawa for Bellator vs. RIZIN event
Josh Evanoff - December 30, 2022
The Bellator vs. RIZIN weigh-in show had a hilarious moment earlier today. The two organizations are slated to put on a co-promoted event tomorrow night in Japan. The card is set to feature some of the biggest stars from Bellator, such as Patricio Pitbull and A.J. McKee. In return, RIZIN will send their best, in the form of champions such as Roberto de Souza to compete against them.