Bellator’s first trip to Russia was a card stacked with top Russian talents, as well as arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time. Which made Bellator 269 must-see TV on Saturday.
While in recent years, names like Daniel Cormier, Stipe Miocic, and Francis Ngannou may have been talked about more, there is no taking away from the accomplishments of “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko. The soft-spoken, undersized Russian ruled PRIDE for years, in a run unequaled to this day by modern heavyweights.
While his Bellator run has had its share of speed bumps, mainly in the form of Matt Mitrione and Ryan Bader, Fedor entered his fight with Tim Johnson on Saturday coming off a 2019 win over Rampage Jackson. Would the time away and a battle with COVID-19 have slowed him? We’d soon find out.
Joining Fedor on the Bellator 269 card in Moscow was former heavyweight champ Vitaly Minakov. With just a single loss to his over 20 wins, Minakov was looking to get back in the mix — and was paired up with American Said Sowma.
Usman Nurmagomedov returned as well, going up against the unheralded Patrik Pietila. On the preliminary card, Darina Madzyuk made her promotional debut, after fighting against (and TKO’ing) a 529lb male sumo wrestler last year, a fight that instantly went viral.
The Bellator 269 preliminary card gets underway just prior to 1PM ET on Saturday, October 23 at the VTB Arena in Moscow, Russia. Full results and a live stream can be found above. Where available, the Bellator 269 live stream of Saturday’s main card action is also featured below.
Bellator 269: Fedor vs. Johnson Results
Main Card
Fedor Emelianenko def. Timothy Johnson by knockout, Round 1, 1:46
Said Sowma def. Vitaly Minakov by TKO (injury), Round 3, 3:08
Usman Nurmagomedov def. Patrik Pietilä by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:06
Anatoly Tokov def. Sharaf Davlatmurodov by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Kirill Sidelnikov def. Rab Truesdale by TKO, Round 1, 2:01
Katarzyna Sadura def. Darina Mazdyuk by TKO, Round 2, 3:17
Irina Alekseeva def. Stephanie Ielö Page by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Nikita Mikhailov def. Brian Moore by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Alexey Shurkevich def. Grachik Bozinyan by KO, Round 1, 2:25
Aiden Lee def. Alexander Osetrov by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 3:41
