Saturday night sees one of the most storied careers in all of mixed martial arts come to a close, as Fedor Emelianenko takes a bow at Bellator 290.
For a full decade, Russia’s “The Last Emperor” ruled over the rank and file of the heavyweight division, an undersized fighter taking out large opponents time and time again. Mirko Cro-Cop, Gary Goodridge, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (“Big Nog”), Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski — time and again, Fedor took on the best and won.
While the back half of his career was not quite as illustrious, with losses in Strikeforce to Fabricio Werdum, Bigfoot Silva, and Dan Henderson, Fedor has managed to stay relevant. After a brief retirement starting in 2012, Fedor returned to action in 2015, winning his first two fights before falling to Matt Mitrione in a double-knockdown that his opponent recovered from first. Since then, a 4-1 record has seen Fedor defeat the likes of Frank Mir and Tim Johnson, with a loss to Ryan Bader the only blemish.
Emelianenko looks to right that wrong as he faces Bader for Bellator’s heavyweight title in a rematch years in the making atop Bellator 290. A win would mean riding off into the sunset with another major title. A loss won’t detract from Fedor’s legacy any, as at 46, he’s competing at a level few still do.
With Bellator 290 also marking the promotion’s debut on CBS, the event has a second title fight attached to it, that sees Johnny Eblen put middleweight gold on the line against Fedor teammate Anatoly Tokov.
Weigh-ins for the event go down Friday in L.A. — results can be found below.
Bellator 290: Bader vs. Fedor 2 Weigh-In Results
Main card
Heavyweight: Ryan Bader (c) (234.4) vs. Fedor Emelianenko (236.2) — for the Bellator MMA heavyweight championship
Middleweight: Johnny Eblen (c) (184) vs. Anatoly Tokov (184.8) — for the Bellator MMA middleweight championship
Welterweight: Sabah Homasi (170.8) vs. Brennan Ward (170.8)
Preliminary card
Welterweight: Neiman Gracie (170.4) vs. Dante Schiro (170.6)
Welterweight: Lorenz Larkin (171) vs. Mukhamed Berkhamov (171)
Featherweight: Henry Corrales (145.6) vs. Akhmed Magomedov (145.2)
Heavyweight: Ali Isaev (261.8) vs. Steve Mowry (253.4)
Lightweight: Chris Gonzalez (155.6) vs. Max Rohskopf (155.6)
Light Heavyweight: Karl Albrektsson (205.2) vs. Grant Neal (205.2)
Women’s Flyweight: Alejandra Lara (125.8) vs. Diana Avsaragova (128.8)*
Bantamweight: Darrion Caldwell (135.8) vs. Nikita Mikhailov (135.4)
Bantamweight: Jornel Lugo (135) vs. Jaylon Bates (136)
Featherweight: Isaiah Hokit (145.6) vs. Peter Ishiguro (145)
Welterweight: Ethan Hughes (170.8) vs. Yusuf Karakaya (170.2)
*Missed Weight
