Two of the most violent finishers in Bellator welterweight history have been booked to fight each other.
Sabah Homasi and Brennan Ward in recent weeks advocated to square off, and the promotion obliged as they’ve been booked to fight Feb. 4 at Bellator 290. Three people, including a Bellator official, informed MMA Junkie of the booking.
Bellator 290 takes place at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., with the main card on CBS after prelims on MMA Junkie.
Reinvented under the Bellator banner, Homasi (17-10 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) has won six of his past eight bouts and is on a two-fight winning streak. Both of the back-to-back victories came by first-round stoppage. In 17 wins, Homasi has 14 finishes.
Ward (16-6 MMA, 11-6 BMMA) returned in February after nearly five years away from MMA competition due to an ongoing battle with drug addiction. At Bellator 274, Ward was successful in his comeback bout when he defeated Brandon Bell by second-round TKO. In June, he defeated Kassius Kayne by second-round TKO at Bellator 282.
In addition, a welterweight bout between Ethan Hughes (3-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and Yusuf Karakaya (1-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has been added to the prelims. Hughes signed a multifight deal with Bellator in 2021 after he pulled off one of the biggest betting upsets of the year when he defeated former Olympian Mahmoud Sebie by TKO at Bellator 271.
With the additions, the Bellator 290 lineup includes:
- Champion Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko – for heavyweight title
- Champion Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero – for light heavyweight title
- Sabah Homasi vs. Brennan Ward
- Ethan Hughes vs. Yusuf Karakaya
