Bellator MMA kicks off its 2023 schedule in a big way with its first fights ever to air on CBS.
Bellator 290 takes place Feb. 4 at The Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main airs on CBS after prelims on MMA Junkie.
The three-fight main card features three fights already announced, including two title bouts. In the main event, Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader (30-7 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) defends his title against all-time great Fedor Emelianenko (40-6 MMA, 4-2 BMMA). The bout is pegged as Emelianenko’s final.
The co-main event features middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) as he battles Emelianenko’s training partner Anatoly Tokov (31-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA). A welterweight bout between all-time Bellator finishers Sabah Homasi (17-10 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) and Brennan Ward (16-6 MMA, 12-6 BMMA) will be the inaugural Bellator bout on CBS.
New preliminary card additions announced by the promotion Friday included a rematch between Mukhamed Berkhamov (14-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and Lorenz Larkin (24-7 MMA, 6-2 BMMA), a heavyweight bout between Ali Isaev (9-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and Steve Mowry (10-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA), and former bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell (15-6 MMA, 12-6 BMMA) vs. Nikita Mikhailov (9-2 MMA, 2-1 BMMA)
The Isaev vs. Mowry bout was first reported by Severe MMA.
The full Bellator 290 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, CBS)
- Champion Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko – for heavyweight title
- Champion Johnny Eblen vs. Anatoly Tokov – for middleweight title
- Sabah Homasi vs. Brennan Ward
PRELIMINARY CARD (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, CBS)
- Neiman Gracie vs. Michael Lombardo
- Mukhamed Berkhamov vs. Lorenz Larkin
- Henry Corrales vs. Akhmed Magomedov
- Chris Gonzalez vs. Max Rohskopf
- Karl Albrektsson vs. Grant Neal
- Diana Avsaragova vs. Alejandra Lara
- Darrion Caldwell vs. Nikita Mikhailov
- Jaylon Bates vs. Jornel Lugo
- Isaiah Hokit vs. Peter Ishiguro
- Ethan Hughes vs. Yusuf Karakaya
