Vitaly Minakov – Syndication Server

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.

Usman Nurmagomedov gets opponent for Bellator 269; Vitaly Minakov meets new foe

The Bellator 269 lineup is shaping up as Usman Nurmagomedov, Vitaly Minakov, and a handful of other fighters were added to the Oct. 23 card.

Bellator 269 is shaping up.

On Tuesday, the promotion announced a handful of additions – and a change – the Oct. 23 card scheduled for VTB Arena in Moscow. Included in the latest lineup is [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) who takes his third career Bellator assignment against [autotag]Patrik Pietila[/autotag] (11-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

Nurmagomedov, , most recently competed at Bellator 263 in July when he defeated Manny Muro via first-round TKO. The younger cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Usman Nurmagomedov has been praised by Bellator president Scott Coker as one of the promotion’s top rising stars.

Additionally, with [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] out, the former Bellator heavyweight champion [autotag]Vitaly Minakov[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 10-1 BMMA) now meets former Titan FC champion [autotag]Said Sowma[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA). The fight was first reported by Russian outlet Fight Time.

Minakov, 36, has not competed since August 2019 when he knocked out Tim Johnson in 105 seconds at Bellator 225. The victory returned him into the win column after his first career loss, which came against Cheick Kongo at Bellator 216 in February 2019.

Sowma, 28, rides into the matchup the momentum of his first Bellator victory. After a unanimous decision loss to Tyrell Fortune in November 2020, Sowma knocked out former UFC and PFL fighter Ronny Markes in 69 seconds at Bellator 262 in July.

The promotion also announced four prelim fights have also been added to the card including [autotag]Nikita Mikhailov[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BMM A) vs. [autotag]Brian Moore[/autotag] (14-7 MMA, 5-3 BMMA), [autotag]Grachik Bozinyan[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Ross Houston[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), [autotag]Irina Alekseeva[/autotag] (3-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Stephanie Ielo Page[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA, and [autotag]Christian Eckerlin[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Alexey Shurkevich[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

The Mikhailov vs. Moore matchup was first reported by Severe MMA, while the Bozinyan vs. Houston fight was first reported by Armenia MMA.

Bellator 269 takes place Oct. 23 at VTB Arena in Moscow. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

With the addition, the Bellator 269 lineup includes:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Johnson
Vitaly Minakov vs. Said Sowma
Rustam Khabilov vs. Andrey Koreshkov
Nikita Mikhailov vs. Brian Moore
Grachik Bozinyan vs. Ross Houston
Irina Alekseeva vs. Stephanie Ielo Page
Christian Eckerlin vs. Alexey Shurkevich

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Bellator books former champ Vitaly Minakov vs. Tyrell Fortune for Moscow

For the first time in over two years, Vitaly Minakov is set to return to the cage.

Fedor Emelianenko won’t be the only big name Bellator heavyweight competing on the promotion’s debut in Russia.

Former Bellator heavyweight champion [autotag]Vitaly Minakov[/autotag] is set to compete for the first time since August 2019 when he takes on [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag]. The event takes place Oct. 23 at VTB Arena.

A promotional official confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after Bellator president Scott Coker announced the news on an Instagram live with Russian news agency TASS.

Minakov (22-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA), who hasn’t competed since August 2019, bounced back from a close split decision loss to Cheick Kongo when he defeated Timothy Johnson via first-round knockout at Bellator 225.

Fortune (11-1 MMA, 11-1 BMMA), meanwhile, rides a three-fight winning streak into the matchup including back-to-back stoppages against Jack May and Matt Mitrione. The three consecutive victories, as well as a no contest against May, came after Fortune’s first and only loss, a knockout defeat to Timothy Johnson in February 2020.

With the addition, the Oct. 23 lineup includes:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. TBA
Usman Nurmagomedov vs. TBA
Tyrell Fortune vs. Vitaly Minakov

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