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Bellator 290 is shaping up to be an entertaining event. Ryan Bader will defend his heavyweight championship against MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko at the promotion's debut event on CBS on February 4. The event will take place at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
The bout is a rematch of their encounter at Bellator 214, which saw Bader defeat Emelianenko via first-round TKO to win the heavyweight Grand Prix and vacant Bellator heavyweight championship.
Despite losing his light heavyweight championship to FedorTeam's Vadim Nemkov, he has remained unbeaten at heavyweight and successfully retained his title twice.
Bellator 290 will also be a significant event as 'The Last Emperor' will be competing for the final time. He is regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight fighters in MMA history through his success in Pride, which saw him defeat a number of former UFC champions.
'Darth' is coming off his successful title defense against Cheick Kongo at Bellator 280, where he outwrestled Kongo en route to a unanimous decision on the promotion's debut in Paris, France. Meanwhile, Emelianenko is coming off his impressive first-round knockout win against Tim Johnson at Bellator 269.
Bader vs. Fedor 2 headlines a stacked Bellator 290 card
Since Bellator is debuting their first event on CBS, it's understandable why Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko 2 is one of the many big fights slated for Bellator 290. The promotion is pulling out all the stops to showcase what their promotion has to offer.
One of the biggest bouts that unfortunately fell through was light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov defending his title against Yoel Romero. The bout was scrapped after Nemkov, who last fought in November, was forced to withdraw from the event.
The promotion will still feature two title fights on their CBS debut as reigning middleweight champion Johnny Eblen will defend his title against FedorTeam's Anatoly Tokov. Eblen is coming off his impressive unanimous decision win against Gegard Mousasi, while Tokov is riding a seven-fight winning streak.
Other bouts slated for the event include Sabah Homasi vs. Brennan Ward, Michael Lombardo vs. Neiman Gracie, and Henry Corrales vs. Akhmed Magomedov.
