Phoenix, AZ — The Bellator 273 open workouts took place Thursday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, with the card’s biggest stars showing off their moves.
In some cases, it wasn’t even just fight moves.
Darth Bader
Heavyweight champ Ryan Bader (28-7, 1NC) hit mitts and showed off his wrestling alongside teammate Sullivan Cauley, who also fights on the show this Saturday. The heavyweight champ is looking to get back in the win column after being bounced from the light heavyweight grand prix last year.
The fight will mark Bader’s first venture at heavyweight since September of 2019, when a title defense against Cheick Kongo ended in a No Contest due to an accidental eye poke.
Team Fedor
Interim champ Valentin Moldavsky worked out alongside coach and teammate Fedor Emelianenko. Moldavsky, who captured interim gold last year in a fight with American Tim Johnson, is looking to be the second Team Fedor member to take a belt from Ryan Bader.
Vadim Nemkov became the first when he defeated Bader for Bellator’s light heavyweight title in 2020.
It wasn’t all business for Moldavsky on Thursday. Moldavsky, Fedor, and the rest of their team tried their hand at some basketball, given they were in the home of the Phoenix Suns. How did that go? Let’s just say it’s a good thing Fedor went with fighting for his career.
Smooth
Also on hand Thursday, former UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson, whose open workout you can also check out below.
Bellator 273 takes place Saturday, January 29, 2022 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ. The card airs live on Showtime in the U.S.
