Fedor Emelianenko To Face Ryan Bader In Retirement Bout

MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko is set to face Ryan Bader in his retirement bout at Bellator 290 in February.

Emelianenko
Credit Emelianenko and Bader on Instagram

Fedor Emelianenko is ready to walk to the cage for the last time.

MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko has been fighting professionally in MMA for over 20 years. He is said to be one of the best heavyweight fighters ever and now he is finally ready to leave competition behind him.  Emelianenko will be having his retirement fight in the Bellator cage this coming February as he takes on Ryan Bader. The news was first reported by CBSSports.com.

Bader is coming into this bout having won against Emelianenko back in 2019. The pair met in the final of the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix. Bader scored the TKO over Emelianenko in the very first round of that fight. He won the heavyweight belt and added it to his light heavyweight belt for that promotion. 

Fedor Emelianenko will be looking to get one last championship before he calls it a career

Since his loss to Bader the first time, Emelianenko has won two in a row. His last win over Timothy Johnson was held in Emelianenko’s home country of Russia and many thought he could have retired at the event. Instead, he is now booked for a heavyweight title fight on the Bellator 290 card taking place at Kia Forum in Inglewood, CA. 

This event will air on CBS and will be the first Bellator event to do so. Bellator president Scott Coker spoke about the importance of this in a press release via MMA Junkie

“We have been working tirelessly on growing this brand into the global powerhouse it is today and a primetime slot on CBS has always been one of our key objectives,” he said. “With a healthy roster full of many of the world’s very best fighters, along with elite up-and-coming prospects and legends of the game, I’m very excited to showcase this event on the most-watched network in America.”

Emelianenko had a storied career with Pride, Strikeforce, and Bellator. He was never able to land a spot on the UFC roster and many fight fans believe that is one of the biggest blunders in the promotion’s history. 

Published on November 18, 2022 at 2:44 pm
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