Pros react after Ryan Bader TKO’s Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 290

By Chris Taylor - February 4, 2023

Tonight’s Bellator 290 main event featured a heavyweight title fight rematch between Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader.

Fedor Emelianenko

The MMA legend and arguably greatest heavyweight of all time, Emelianenko (40-7 MMA), was making his final cage appearance this evening. ‘The Last Emperor‘ entered the matchup coming off back-to-back first-round knockout victories over Timothy Johnson and Quinton Jackson. Those wins were preceded by a TKO loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 214, in a bout that had lasted just 35-seconds.

Meanwhile, Bader (31-7 MMA) was looking to earn the third defense of his Bellator heavyweight title when he rematched Fedor this evening in Inglewood. ‘Darth’ was coming off back-to-back decision wins over Cheick Kongo and Valentin Moldavsky in 2022.

Tonight’s Bellator 290 main event proved to be a one-sided mauling. Ryan Bader scored a knockdown in the early moments of the opening round, dropping Fedor Emelianenko with a right hand. From there, ‘Darth’ proceeded to batter the legend with ground and pound from top position before Herb Dean mercifully stepped in to stop the fight.

Official Bellator 290 Result: Ryan Bader def. Fedor Emelianenko via TKO at 2:30 of Round 1

Check out how the pros reacted to ‘Fedor vs. Bader 2’ below:

Post-fight reactions to Ryan Bader defeating Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 290:

What did you think of Fedor’s final fight this evening in California? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Topics:

Bellator Fedor Emelianenko Ryan Bader