The heavyweight, a Team Fedor fighter, is 33, and certainly no longer a “baby,” but he reminded fight fans why he was considered a blue chip prospect in the weight class in Moscow on Saturday. Sidelnikov found the finish within a round, using elbows to put away Rab Truesdale.

After the fight, he told Cageside Press what it meant to share the card with his mentor.

“When you’re fighting on the same card with Fedor, it’s a different kind of responsibility,” Sidelnikov (13-6) stated. “You can’t just lose, because you’re fighting along with your friend on Team Fedor, and you feel the honor of that. You need to defend the honor of Team Fedor, you need to defend the honor of your friend, and we’re good buddies, so yeah that was important.”

That sort of motivation seems to have worked for Sidelnikov, who won his second straight fight with the TKO of Truesdale. Now, the hope is that the Russian heavyweight can compete more frequently. Of late, visa issues have hampered that.

“I do not have a name in mind, but I’m certainly ready for the future fights, I’m certainly ready for anything else Bellator can throw at me,” Sidelnikov told Cageside Press. “Hopefully the situation with the visa is going to be resolved soon. I believe it’s going to be resolved soon. So we’ll see.”

Watch the full Bellator 269 virtual post-fight press conference with Kirill Sidelnikov above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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Heavyweights slugged it out as part of the Bellator 230 main card. Going down Saturday night in Milan, Italy, one of two scraps featuring the big men saw Domingos Barros take on Kirill Sidelnikov. Sidelnikov had finished his first six wins as a pro, and none of them had left the first round. However, the Team Fedor fighter had developed into a more well-rounded fighter, after starting his career at the young age of 19.

Still, Sidelnikov’s finishing ability made Saturday’s showdown with Barros something of a “blink and you’ll miss it” affair heading in. It didn’t turn out that way however.

Barros, mind you, would have a significant height and weight advantage. That said, he was the one closing the distance first, with Sidelnikov firing off a number of punches as Barros moved in. The pair clinched briefly, then moved back to the open. Barros shot low for a takedown, which Team Fedor’s Sidelnikov stuffed. An exchange or two later, and Barros made another attempt, stuffed again. Barros would back his opponent up to the fence, however. In the final minute, Sidelnikov would connect with an uppercut, and later land a right hand while Barros was circling along the cage.

The fight, however, would head to the second. There, Sidelnikov would press the action while Barros fended him off with kicks. He’d get his jab going, add a right, and go on the attack himself, one of his better moments in the fight to that point. They’d clinch by the cage, where Sidelnikov would land an elbow off the break. Barros would later engage in a Thai clinch briefly, firing a knee. At the end of the round, Barros engaged in a little bit of showboating, but if Sidelnikov was bothered, he didn’t show it.

Entering the third round, there was a question as to whether Barros needed a finish. Sidelnikov could easily have been up two rounds. Barros walked forward early, and when he wasn’t moving forward he was trying to utilize his length. Barros’ jab was working, but it wasn’t enough to do any real damage until an accidental eye poke with two minutes remaining. A brief pause, and they got back underway. Only for a kick to also land low, again with Sidelnikov on the receiving end. Again, he wouldn’t take much time, instead going on the attack with a flurry of punches. Barros seemed to be coasting, a rather odd tactic in a relatively close fight. Late in the third the Russian would come on strong landing several strikes, Barros at one point covering up. They’d go the distance, with Kirill Sidelnikov taking the victory.

Official Result: Kirill Sidelnikov def. Domingos Barros by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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Bellator 209 went down Thursday night in Tel Aviv, and thanks to the magic of tape delay, we can now bring you how the first fight of the main card went down. Opening the action, we saw Adam Keresh as he returned to cage after defeating Roman Kushnir in Keresh’s back at Bellator 188. He was set to greet the newly signed “Baby Fedor” Kirill Sidelnikov in his own Bellator debut. Sidelnikov entered the night with a 11-5 record outside of the organization as well as multiple medals and championships in Combat Sambo.

Keresh threw the first punch, but Sidelnikov was quick to press the action, landing his shots. He took Keresh down with a body lock. They worked back to their feet where Keresh landed a heavy kick that landed on the chin of Sidelnikov and dropped him. Keresh pounced and caught Sidelnikov with a flurry of blows as he tried to get back to his feet; that once again dropped ‘Baby Fedor’ to the mat as the ref jumped in to bring a stop to the action.

🤯#Bellator209 pic.twitter.com/kXH6izF71Y

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 17, 2018

Adam Keresh def. Kirill Sidelnikov by knockout, Round 1, 1:12

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