Vadim Nemkov Withdraws from Bellator 290; Eblen vs. Tokov Set for Co-Main Event

Bellator 290 has a new co-main event.

Reigning light heavyweight king Vadim Nemkov has withdrawn from his title defense against Yoel Romero for undisclosed reasons, and as a result, a middleweight title tilt between Johnny Eblen and Anatoly Tokov has been booked as the card’s new co-feature. Promotion officials initially confirmed the change to ESPN. It is currently unclear if Nemkov vs. Romero will be rebooked at a later date.

Bellator 290 takes place on Feb. 4 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and is headlined by a heavyweight championship rematch pitting Ryan Bader against Fedor Emelianenko. The card will air on CBS, marking the promotion’s debut on network television.

Eblen claimed middleweight gold in his last outing at Bellator 282, when he took a five-round verdict over former Strikeforce title holder Gegard Mousasi on June 24. The 31-year-old American Top Team representative is 12-0 as a professional, with eight of those triumphs coming under the Bellator banner.

Tokov will take a seven-bout promotional winning streak into the matchup with Eblen. The Fedorteam export was on a two-year hiatus from October 2019 to October 2021 before returning to post back-to-back triumphs against Sharaf Davlatmurodov and Muhammad Abdullah in his last two Bellator appearances. The 32-year-old Russian has compiled a 31-2 career mark over the course of a professional tenure that began in 2009.