Bellator kicks off its 2023 schedule on Saturday with a landmark event in company history. Bellator 290 , which takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., marks the company’s main card network debut on CBS, which follows prelims streamed on MMA Junkie. A championship doubleheader is set to headline the card. In the main event, Ryan Bader (30-7 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) will put his heavyweight title fight against MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko (40-6 MMA, 4-2 BMMA), who is set to retire from MMA competition. The pair previously met at Bellator 214 in January 2019, with Bader scoring a 35-second TKO victory . The co-headliner of the card, meanwhile, will see middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) attempt to make his first title defense when he welcomes challenger Anatoly Tokov (31-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), who has lost just once over the past 11 years.
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Bellator 290 pre-event facts: Fedor Emelianenko can make history in final fight – MMA Junkie