Anatoly Tokov – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Bellator 290 weigh-ins video: Fedor Emelianenko steps on the scale for final MMA bout

Watch Fedor Emelianenko step on the scale for what is expected to be the final weigh-in of his MMA career.

LOS ANGELES – [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] stepped on the scale Friday for what is expected to be his final MMA bout.

Ahead of Saturday’s Bellator 290 main event bout, all eyes were on Emelianenko (40-6 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) when he took the stage for the official weigh-ins.

For a heavyweight fighter who always has come in well under the limit, there was little doubt Emelianenko would make weight, and he did, with a kiss to his cross necklace before and after.

Emelianenko fights in the first rematch of his Bellator career Saturday at Kia Forum, as he looks to avenge his loss against [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 8-2 BMMA), who was first on the scales at 234.4 pounds.

Also on the card, middleweight champion [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) and challenger [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (31-3 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) hit championship weight. Eblen was 184 pounds. Tokov was slightly heavier at 184.8 pounds.

Main card openers [autotag]Sabah Homasi[/autotag] (17-10 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) and [autotag]Brennan Ward[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 11-6 BMMA) both weighed in at 170.8 pounds.

Check out Emelianenko and Bader’s weigh-ins in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 290.

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Bellator 290 faceoffs video: Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko, Johnny Eblen vs. Anatoly Tokov

Watch all four Bellator 290 championship combatants, including Fedor Emelianenko, face off for the first time during fight week.

LOS ANGELES – All four fighters involved in the two Bellator 290 title bouts came together for faceoffs following Wednesday’s pre-fight news conference.

In the main event, heavyweight champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) puts his belt on the line in a rematch with [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (40-6 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in what will be the legendary “Last Emperor’s” retirement fight. And in the co-headliner, undefeated middleweight champion [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) attempts to make his first title defense against top contender [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (31-3 MMA, 7-0 BMMA).

You can watch the fighters square up in the video above.

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Bellator 290 takes place Saturday at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card airs on CBS following prelims on MMA Junkie.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 290.

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Video: Bellator 290 pre-fight press conference live stream

Check out a live video stream of the Bellator 290 pre-fight news conference in Los Angeles with headliners Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko.

The Bellator 290 pre-fight press news conference takes place Wednesday, and you can watch a live stream of the event right here starting at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT).

Attending the event at the host hotel in Los Angeles will be heavyweight champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] and [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag], who will rematch each other in what will serve as the headliner and Emelianenko’s retirement fight, as well as middleweight champion [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] and [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag], who square off in the co-main event. Bellator president Scott Coker also is expected to be on hand.

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Bellator 290 takes place Saturday at The Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., with a three-fight main card that airs on CBS following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 290.

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Bellator 290 pre-event facts: Fedor Emelianenko can make history in final fight

Check out the numbers behind Bellator 290, where Fedor Emelianenko has a chance to set records in his retirement fight.

Bellator kicks off its 2023 schedule on Saturday with a landmark event in company history. Bellator 290, which takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., marks the company’s main card network debut on CBS, which follows prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

A championship doubleheader is set to headline the card. In the main event, [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) will put his heavyweight title fight against MMA legend [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (40-6 MMA, 4-2 BMMA), who is set to retire from MMA competition. The pair previously met at Bellator 214 in January 2019, with Bader scoring a 35-second TKO victory.

The co-headliner of the card, meanwhile, will see middleweight champion [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) attempt to make his first title defense when he welcomes challenger [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (31-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), who has lost just once over the past 11 years.

For more on the numbers behind the event, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for Bellator 290.

Bellator 290 main card set for CBS debut; Lorenz Larkin and more added to prelims

Fourteen fights are on tap for Bellator 290 at The Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., with Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader atop the card.

Bellator MMA kicks off its 2023 schedule in a big way with its first fights ever to air on CBS.

Bellator 290 takes place Feb. 4 at The Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main airs on CBS after prelims on MMA Junkie.

The three-fight main card features three fights already announced, including two title bouts. In the main event, Bellator heavyweight champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) defends his title against all-time great [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (40-6 MMA, 4-2 BMMA). The bout is pegged as Emelianenko’s final.

The co-main event features middleweight champion [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) as he battles Emelianenko’s training partner [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (31-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA). A welterweight bout between all-time Bellator finishers [autotag]Sabah Homasi[/autotag] (17-10 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) and [autotag]Brennan Ward[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 12-6 BMMA) will be the inaugural Bellator bout on CBS.

New preliminary card additions announced by the promotion Friday included a rematch between [autotag]Mukhamed Berkhamov[/autotag] (14-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag] (24-7 MMA, 6-2 BMMA), a heavyweight bout between [autotag]Ali Isaev[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Steve Mowry[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA), and former bantamweight champion [autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 12-6 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Nikita Mikhailov[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 2-1 BMMA)

The Isaev vs. Mowry bout was first reported by Severe MMA.

The full Bellator 290 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, CBS)

Champion Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko – for heavyweight title
Champion Johnny Eblen vs. Anatoly Tokov – for middleweight title
Sabah Homasi vs. Brennan Ward

PRELIMINARY CARD (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, CBS)

Neiman Gracie vs. Michael Lombardo
Mukhamed Berkhamov vs. Lorenz Larkin
Henry Corrales vs. Akhmed Magomedov
Chris Gonzalez vs. Max Rohskopf
Karl Albrektsson vs. Grant Neal
Diana Avsaragova vs. Alejandra Lara
Darrion Caldwell vs. Nikita Mikhailov
Jaylon Bates vs. Jornel Lugo
Isaiah Hokit vs. Peter Ishiguro
Ethan Hughes vs. Yusuf Karakaya

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Dec. 26-Jan. 1)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Dec. 26-Jan. 1.

Bellator 290 gets Johnny Eblen vs. Anatoly Tokov title fight with Nemkov-Romero off

Bellator’s first event in the new year has a new title fight to take the place of one that will head to the back burner.

Bellator’s first event in the new year has a new title fight to take the place of one that will head to the backburner.

The new Bellator 290 co-main event in February will be a middleweight title fight between champion [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) and challenger [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (31-3 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), a teammate of Fedor Emelianenko, who challenges Ryan Bader for the heavyweight title in the headliner. Bellator officials announced the new fight Tuesday.

The middleweight title bout takes the place of the originally announced co-main event between light heavyweight champ [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), which officials said in a news release is “unable to take place as scheduled.”

Bellator 290 takes place Feb. 4 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., just outside Los Angeles. For the first time in promotion history, the main card will air on CBS in a nationally televised prime time broadcast. The card also will stream on Paramount+. Prelims will stream on MMA Junkie.

Eblen won the middleweight title at Bellator 282 in June when he dominated Gegard Mousasi on the scorecards for a 50-45 unanimous decision sweep. The wrestling standout beat John Salter in March to put himself in position for a title shot.

Tokov beat Muhammad Abdullah with a first-round TKO at Bellator 282 for his seventh straight win, all under the Bellator banner. In October 2021, Tokov returned after a two-year layoff and took a split decision from Sharaf Davlatmurodov.

With the change, the Bellator 290 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (CBS, 9 p.m. ET)

Champ Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko – for heavyweight title
Champ Johnny Eblen vs. Anatoly Tokov – for middleweight title
Sabah Homasi vs. Brennan Ward

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6 p.m. ET)

Neiman Gracie vs. Michael Lombardo
Jaylon Bates vs. Jornel Lugo
Henry Corrales vs. Akhmed Magomedov
Karl Albrektsson vs. Grant Neal
Chris Gonzalez vs. Max Rohskopf
Diana Avsaragova vs. Alejandra Lara
Ethan Hughes vs. Yusuf Karakaya

Bellator 282 post-event facts: Johnny Eblen the newest undefeated champion

Johnny Eblen joined the short list of fighters to win a Bellator title with an undefeated record at Bellator 282.

The Bellator event schedule resumed Friday with Bellator 282, which took place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and saw a new champion crowned in the main event.

[autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) captured the middleweight title with a dominant sweep over [autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] (49-8-2 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) by unanimous decision, becoming the eighth 185-pound champion in company history.

For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-fight facts from Bellator 282.

The Fedor mixtape: Watch ‘The Last Emperor’ ball up with Russian teammates on Phoenix Suns floor

Slide over Michael Jordan, Fedor Emelianenko has stepped onto the court.

PHOENIX – For years, [autotag]Fedor Ememlianenko[/autotag] was considered by many to be the greatest to ever do it inside an MMA cage.

But how about on the basketball court? You be the judge.

On Thursday, Emelianenko joined pupil and interim Bellator heavyweight champion [autotag]Valentin Moldavsky[/autotag] for an open workout at Footprint Center, home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns.

The mats covered part of the court, but both hoops were exposed. Emelianenko, Moldavsky, and fellow teammate [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] were passed some basketballs – and put up their best shots.

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Known for his neutral expression and nonchalant personality, Emelianenko laughed and made facial expressions as he struggled to get the ball in the hoop. He even tried some backward shots – though, no success.

The shooting percentages are unlikely to earn any of the three fighters 10-day contracts from an NBA team, but the trio appeared to enjoy their time giving a foreign sport a try.

Bellator 273 takes place Saturday at Footprint Center. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie. The main event features Moldavsky in a title unification bout against undisputed champion Ryan Bader.

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Bellator 269 predictions: Who’s taking Tim Johnson over Fedor Emelianenko?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 269 main card in Moscow, featuring Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Johnson at heavyweight.

	Emelianenko vs. Johnson	Minakov vs. Sowma	Nurmagomedov vs. Pietila	Davlatmurodov vs. Tokov
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 167-97	Emelianenko (66%)	Minakov (91%)	Nurmagomedov (92%)	Tokov (83%)
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 172-92	Johnson	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 166-98	Emelianenko	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov
Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 164-100	Johnson	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 161-103 2020 Champion	Johnson	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 160-104 2018 Champion	Emelianenko	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 160-104	Emelianenko	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 159-105 2014 Champion	Emelianenko	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 155-109 2017 Champion	Johnson	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 154-110	Johnson	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 153-111	Emelianenko	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 151-113	Johnson	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 150-115	Emelianenko	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 90-58	Emelianenko	Minakov	Nurmagomedov	Tokov

Bellator makes its debut in Russia this week with arguably the most famous Russian fighter of all time at the top of the bill.

Bellator 269 takes place Saturday at VTB Arena in Moscow. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) fights in his home country for the first time in more than five years when he takes on [autotag]Tim Johnson[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) at heavyweight. Johnson, fighting in hostile territory, is a -160 favorite at Tipico; the comeback on Emelianenko is +125. But it’s Emelianenko who has a 7-6 lead in the picks from our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers at 13-0.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Vitaly Minakov[/autotag] (22-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) is a big -320 favorite at heavyweight against [autotag]Said Sowma[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA). He’s one of three unanimous picks from our staff members on the main card.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) will try to keep his unbeaten record intact against [autotag]Patrik Pietila[/autotag] (11-8 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in a 160-pound contract weight fight. Nurmagomedov is a massive -3000 favorite, and not surprisingly he’s a unanimous pick.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (29-3 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) is a huge -750 favorite at middleweight against [autotag]Sharaf Davlatmurodov[/autotag] (18-3-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and is our third unanimous choice.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Emelianenko (66 percent), Minakov (91 percent), Nurmagomedov (92 percent) and Tokov (83 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.