Tag: Bellator 290

Knockout artists Sabah Homasi, Brennan Ward set to fight at Bellator 290

Bellator 290 adds a fight between Sabah Homasi and Brennan Ward, two of the most violent strikers in the promotion’s welterweight history.

Two of the most violent finishers in Bellator welterweight history have been booked to fight each other.

[autotag]Sabah Homasi[/autotag] and [autotag]Brennan Ward[/autotag] in recent weeks advocated to square off, and the promotion obliged as they’ve been booked to fight Feb. 4 at Bellator 290. Three people, including a Bellator official, informed MMA Junkie of the booking.

Bellator 290 takes place at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., with the main card on CBS after prelims on MMA Junkie.

Reinvented under the Bellator banner, Homasi (17-10 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) has won six of his past eight bouts and is on a two-fight winning streak. Both of the back-to-back victories came by first-round stoppage. In 17 wins, Homasi has 14 finishes.

Ward (16-6 MMA, 11-6 BMMA) returned in February after nearly five years away from MMA competition due to an ongoing battle with drug addiction. At Bellator 274, Ward was successful in his comeback bout when he defeated Brandon Bell by second-round TKO. In June, he defeated Kassius Kayne by second-round TKO at Bellator 282.

In addition, a welterweight bout between [autotag]Ethan Hughes[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Yusuf Karakaya[/autotag] (1-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has been added to the prelims. Hughes signed a multifight deal with Bellator in 2021 after he pulled off one of the biggest betting upsets of the year when he defeated former Olympian Mahmoud Sebie by TKO at Bellator 271.

With the additions, the Bellator 290 lineup includes:

  • Champion Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko – for heavyweight title
  • Champion Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero – for light heavyweight title
  • Sabah Homasi vs. Brennan Ward
  • Ethan Hughes vs. Yusuf Karakaya

Yoel Romero gets title shot at Bellator 290 against Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson winner

Yoel Romero will challenge for the light heavyweight title in the Bellator 290 co-main event.

[autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] will challenge for the light heavyweight title in the Bellator 290 co-main event.

Promotion officials verified to MMA Junkie following an initial report from CBSSports.com that Romero will face the winner of Friday’s Bellator 288 light heavyweight title fight headliner between champion Vadim Nemkov (15-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) and Corey Anderson (16-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA), which takes place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Bellator 290 takes place Feb. 4 at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The event airs on CBS and is headlined by a heavyweight title rematch between champion Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko.

Romero (15-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), a four-time UFC title challenger, has won two of three fights since signing with Bellator. After dropping a split decision to Phil Davis in his promotional debut, the 45-year-old snapped a four-fight losing skid by scoring consecutive third-round knockouts of Alex Polizzi and Melvin Manhoef.

The latest Bellator 290 lineup includes:

  • Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko – for heavyweight title
  • Vadim Nemkov/Corey Anderson winner vs. Yoel Romero – for light heavyweight title

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Fedor Emelianenko gets retirement fight wish, rematches Ryan Bader for title at Bellator 290

In his final fight, Fedor Emelianenko will get his long-desired rematch.

In his final fight, [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] will get his long-desired rematch.

Emelianenko (40-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is set to rematch heavyweight champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) in the Bellator 290 main event on Feb. 4 at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., promotion officials verified to MMA Junkie following an initial report from CBSSports.com.

The event is scheduled to air on CBS, a first for the Bellator brand.

“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,” said Bellator president Scott Coker in a press release. “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.”

Heavyweight champion Bader needed just 35 seconds to knock Emelianenko out when they first fought in the grand prix final in January 2019. However, the legendary former PRIDE champion has since rebounded with back-to-back first-round knockouts of Quinton Jackson and Timothy Johnson.

Beating Emelianenko helped Bader reach dual-champion status. Although Bader would go onto lose his light heavyweight title to Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 244, he managed to defend his heavyweight title twice against Valentin Moldavsky and Cheick Kongo.

Now Emelianenko will attempt to close his legendary career with gold around his waist while avenging an important career loss.

The latest Bellator 290 lineup includes:

  • Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko – for heavyweight title
  • Vadim Nemkov/Corey Anderson winner vs. Yoel Romero – for light heavyweight title

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