MMA Legends To Appear At Bellator 290 To Honor Fedor

MMA fans will be thrilled to see the one and only Fedor Emelianenko, the long-revered heavyweight contender, take center stage this Saturday. ‘The Last Emperor’ will go head-to-head with Bellator Heavyweight Champion Ryan Bader in a battle for the gold. This highly-anticipated rematch follows their last fight at Bellator 214 in January 2019, where Bader emerged victorious with a swift TKO just 35 seconds into the first round.

Since his last encounter with Fedor Emelianenko, Ryan Bader has had a wild ride in the Bellator promotion. He lost and regained the belt, taking losses to Vadim Nemkov and Corey Anderson and delivering victories against top fighters like Lyoto Machida and Valentin Moldavsky.

As for Emelianenko, the Russian sensation has stepped back into the ring twice, coming out on top against Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Timothy Johnson. However, the MMA legend took a break from competition in 2022 and didn’t fight once all year.

At Bellator 290, an assembly of MMA greats will gather to pay homage to Fedor Emelianenko, as Scott Coker announced during his recent MMA Hour appearance.

This roster of legends, some of whom have previously fought against Emelianenko, includes Josh Barnett, Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Renzo Gracie, Royce Gracie, Dan Henderson, Matt Hughes, Rampage Jackson, Chuck Liddell, Frank Shamrock, and Chael Sonnen.

They will be present to honor Emelianenko’s remarkable career after his much-anticipated bout against Ryan Bader.

Today, many consider Emelianenko to be the greatest MMA fighter of all time, despite never competing in the UFC.