''Bellator 290: Bader vs. Fedor 2'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event produced by

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

that took place on February 4, 2023, at the

Kia Forum The Kia Forum, also known as Los Angeles Forum and formerly Great Western Forum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located on West Manchester Boulevard, with Pincay Drive to th ...

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

, United States. The card aired live on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

and

Paramount Plus Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily ...

, the first time the promotion has aired live on the network and the first time MMA has been broadcast live on CBS since 2010.

Background

The event marked the promotion's seventh visit to Inglewood and first since

Bellator 263 Bellator 263: Pitbull vs. McKee was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on July 31, 2021, at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The event marked Bellator's first outside of the Mohegan Sun bubble and the first Be ...

in July 2021. The main event of the Bellator 290 featured MMA veteran and former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko's last fight before his retirement. Emelianenko challenged Bellator Heavyweight champion

Ryan Bader Ryan Bader ( ; born June 7, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of RIZIN. He previously competed for Bellator MMA where he was the Bellator Heavyweight Champion, and still holds the record for th ...

(also former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir light heavyweight winner) for the title. The fight, which was the first event of

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

for the promotion, was a rematch of their January 2019 encounter in which Bader defeated his opponent by TKO in the first round to win the Bellator Heavyweight World Championship. The event was shown live on

and

, marking the first time the promotion has done so and the first time MMA has been broadcast live on the network since 2010. A Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship bout between current champion Vadim Nemkov (also the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Champion) and former UFC Middleweight title contender

Yoel Romero Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate ...

was expected to take place at the event. However, Nemkov withdrew for undisclosed reasons and the bout was cancelled. A Bellator Middleweight World Championship bout between current champion

Johnny Eblen Johnny Eblen (born December 13, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist who last fought in Bellator MMA, where he was the last Middleweight World Champion. Background Eblen, born to a Korean mother and American father, was a sta ...

and Anatoly Tokov served as the new co-main event. Neiman Gracie and Michael Lombardo were scheduled to face each other at this event. However, two weeks before the event, Lombardo was forced to withdraw from the bout and he was replaced by Dante Schiro. At the weigh-ins,

Diana Avsaragova Diana Avsaragova (; born August 7, 1998) is a Russian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist of Ossetians, Ossetian ethnicity who competes in the Women's Flyweight (MMA), Flyweight division of the Bellator MMA. Background Diana was born on ...

missed weight for her bout, coming in at 128.8 pounds, 2.8 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Avsaragova was fined 25% of her purse which went to

Alejandra Lara Alejandra Lara (born 4 August 1994) is a Colombian female mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. She had previously most notably competed in Bellator MMA, where she was a title contender. She is also known by the nickname " ...

Results

Reported payout

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the California State Athletic Commission. It is important to note the amounts do not include sponsor money, discretionary bonuses, viewership points or additional earnings. * Ryan Bader: $150,000 (no win bonus) def. Fedor Emelianenko: $100,000 * Johnny Eblen: $150,000 (no win bonus) def. Anatoly Tokov: $75,000 * Brennan Ward: $75,000 (no win bonus) def. Sabah Homasi: $100,000 * Lorenz Larkin: $75,000 (no win bonus) def. Mukhamed Berkhamov: $33,000 * Henry Corrales: $75,000 (no win bonus) def. Akhmed Magomedov: $28,000 * Steve Mowry: $70,000 draw Ali Isaev: $70,000 * Chris Gonzalez: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus) def. Max Rohskopf: $30,000 * Grant Neal: $66,000 (includes $33,000 win bonus) def. Karl Albrektsson: $35,000 * Diana Avsaragova: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus) def. Alejandra Lara: $60,000 * Nikita Mikhailov: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus) def. Darrion Caldwell: $50,000 * Neiman Gracie: $75,000 (no win bonus) def. Dante Schiro: $20,000 * Jaylon Bates: $20,000 (no win bonus) def. Jornel Lugo: $35,000 * Isaiah Hokit: $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus) def. Peter Ishiguro: $3,000 * Yusuf Karakaya: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Ethan Hughes: $5,000

Viewership

After the event, it was announced that the event averaged 1.068 million viewers on CBS.

References

{{2023 in mixed martial arts Bellator MMA events 2023 in mixed martial arts February 2023 sports events in the United States 2023 in sports in Los Angeles County, California Mixed martial arts in California Sports competitions in Inglewood, California

Background

Results

Reported payout

Viewership

See also

References