Matches to Make After Bellator 290

Fedor Emelianenko lays down his gloves surrounded by legends!

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Bellator MMA’s first event of 2023 was one of its biggest ever, headlined by a rematch between arguably the greatest heavyweight ever, Fedor Emelianenko, in his last match against the promotion’s first champ-champ, Ryan Bader.

Despite being 46, Fedor didn't limp into his retirement bout having looked weak in recent outings. On the contrary, he had won 4 of his last 5, the lone blemish being a knockout defeat in his first meeting with Bader. Meanwhile, he had scored first-round knockouts of Chael Sonnen and former Ultimate Fighting Championship champions Frank Mir and Quinton Jackson. His most impressive victory, however, might have been a blistering 100 second knockout of Tim Johnson, a solid heavyweight contender who is still very much in his prime.

Bader, meanwhile, had suffered knockout defeats to two of the best light heavyweights in the world -- Vadim Nemkov and Corey Anderson -- since his first victory over Fedor, but had defeated lesser mortals. Those include clear wins over former UFC champion and light heavyweight legend Lyoto Machida as well as Cheick Kongo, and a razor-thin verdict over one of Fedor's top pupils, Valentin Moldavsky, that most media and fans alike had for the Russian.

Alas, while he looked good at 44 against Johnson, a 46 year-old Fedor had little to offer the current Bellator heavyweight king, who evaded his power punches, landing ones of his own, and then finished him with ground-and-pound just over halfway through round 1.

In the co-main, undefeated Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen fought a world-class contender in the tremendously tough and well-rounded Anatoly Tokov, another of Fedor's students, who was 7-0 in Bellator and hadn't lost since 2016. For the first two rounds, it was a close, gritty battle. Tokov managed to defend against Eblen's takedowns and both men had good moments in the striking. However, over the last three rounds, Eblen's outstanding cardio and world-class grappling made the difference, as he continually got takedowns and delivered heavy damage to the Russian challenger. Eblen retained his title via an emphatic unanimous decision via scores of 50-45 and 49-46 twice.

Bellator 290 was in general a star-studded affair. The very first fight of the night featured former long-time Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell and almost every match included ranked contenders. In terms of decisive results, Lorenz Larkin rematched undefeated Mukhamed Berkhamov after their inconclusive first bout. Larkin was a considerable +170 underdog, but reminded everyone that even at 36, he is one of the finest strikers in mixed martial arts, delivering a hellacious walk-off elbow less than 2:00 into the fight in an early candidate for “Knockout of the Year.” Brennan Ward also continued his triumphant comeback with his third knockout in as many fights, massacring dangerous striker Sabah Homasi in the second round.

Here are some further exciting fights that can be booked later this year;

Ryan Bader vs. Yoel Romero

The victory over Fedor shouldn't obscure that Bader is himself 39 and likely close to retirement. With Nemkov having to pull out of a planned title defense against Yoel Romero, who is also approaching the end, why not have the two fight in a blockbuster main event at either 205 pounds or heavyweight? Not only would it feature two big names, but it would be immensely intriguing. Could Romero's explosiveness and furious punching power exploit Bader's notoriously shaky chin? Can Bader outwrestle the Olympic silver medalist wrestler like Phil Davis did? Will Bader's cardio outlast Romero's occasional spurts of fury? I for one would love to see it.

Johnny Eblen vs. Winner of Mousasi-Edwards

Eblen proved again that he is Bellator’s best middleweight and potentially in all of MMA. The only intriguing matchup for him in the weight class is to face the winner of the upcoming Bellator Paris main event between Gegard Mousasi and Fabian Edwards. Whether it's the former Bellator middleweight and middleweight legend Mousasi getting a second crack against Eblen to see if he can even the score, or the highly talented Edwards trying to pull the same upset as his older brother, Leon Edwards, against Kamaru Usman, both are big match-ups full of storylines. And as Eblen proved against Tokov, whether striking or grappling, he's an exciting pairing against anyone.

Lorenz Larkin vs. Dalton Rosta

This should be an exciting affair, as both men can grapple and strike very well, and it will be interesting to see if Rosta can resist Larkin's striking and if Larkin can stop Rosta's wrestling. Furthermore, it will advance a serious contender to Eblen's throne, as Larkin was No. 8 prior to his victory and Rosta is currently No. 5. Lastly, it will tell us if the undefeated, 27 year-old Rosta is the real deal against the middleweight elite, while not hurting him too much in case he should falter at this step. It could also give Larkin, currently riding a 7-fight winning streak, one last crack at a title should he prove himself.

Brennan Ward vs. Andrey Koreshkov

Ward just decimated Bellator's No. 8 ranked welterweight, but the jury is still out on exactly how good the 34 year-old is. We can find out with a match against former Bellator welterweight champion and current No. 6-ranked Andrey Koreshkov, who is currently riding a four-fight winning streak with three finishes since losing a split to Lorenz Larkin in 2019. Not only will this tell us about both men and advance a serious contender for the welterweight crown, but it could very well be a fantastic striking affair between two ruthless kickboxers who are always looking for a finish. It’s a win-win for fans and the promotion alike.