The first Bellator event of 2023, Bellator 290, went down Saturday at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and it marked a monumental occasion for both the promotion and the sport.
In addition to being the organization’s debut showcase on CBS, the card marked the retirement fight of legendary former PRIDE champion Fedor Emelianenko (40-7 MMA, 4-3 BMMA), who suffered a first-round TKO loss to heavyweight titleholder Ryan Bader (31-7 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) in their main event rematch.
The co-headliner saw middleweight champion Johnny Eblen(13-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) remain undefeated with a unanimous decision win over Anatoly Tokov (31-3 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) for his first title defense.
For more on the numbers behind the title bouts, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 290.
Event stats
Betting favorites went 7-7 on the card.
Betting favorites improved to 1-0 in Bellator main events this year.
Total fight time for the 14-bout card was 2:57:07.
Ryan Bader def. Fedor Emelianenko
Bader’s four consecutive title defenses are tied with Cris Cyborg for most among current Bellator champions.
Bader improved to 6-0 (with one no contest) since he moved up to the heavyweight division in May 2018.
Bader improved to 5-0 in career rematches.
Bader’s seven-fight Bellator unbeaten streak in heavyweight competition is the second-longest active streak in the division behind Steve Mowry (eight).
Bader has earned all four of his Bellator stoppage victories by knockout.
Emelianenko retired from MMA competition after his loss.
Emelianenko fell to 6-3 since he returned from his first retirement in December 2015.
Emelianenko has suffered all seven of his career losses by stoppage.
Emelianenko has suffered all three of his Bellator losses by knockout.
Johnny Eblen def. Anatoly Tokov
Eblen’s nine-fight Bellator winning streak at middleweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Eblen has earned seven of his nine Bellator victories by decision.
Tokov has suffered two of his three career losses by decision.
Brennan Ward def. Sabah Homasi
Brennan Ward (17-6 MMA, 12-6 BMMA) improved to 3-0 since he returned from a nearly five-year layoff from competition.
Ward has earned 16 of his 17 career victories by stoppage.
Ward has earned all 12 of his Bellator victories by stoppage.
Ward’s 12 stoppage victories in Bellator competition are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind A.J. McKee (13), Patricio Freire (13) and Michael Chandler (13).
Ward’s nine knockout victories in Bellator competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Michael Page (10) and Patricky Freire (10).
Sabah Homasi (17-11 MMA, 5-5 BMMA) has suffered nine of his 11 career losses by stoppage.
Jaylon Bates def. Jornel Lugo
Jaylon Bates’ (7-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) seven-fight Bellator winning streak at bantamweight is tied with Raufeon Stots for the longest active streak in the division.
Jornel Lugo (8-2 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 8-0.
Lugo has suffered both of his career losses by decision.
Ethan Hughes def. Yusuf Karakaya
Ethan Hughes (4-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) earned the first decision victory of his career.
Isaiah Hokit def. Peter Ishiguro
Isaiah Hokit (3-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) earned the first decision victory of his career.
Peter Ishiguro (2-2 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Neiman Gracie def. Dante Schiro
Neiman Gracie (12-4 MMA, 10-4 BMMA) improved to 9-4 since he dropped to the welterweight division in February 2015.
Dante Schiro (9-5 MMA, 1-3 BMMA) has suffered four of his five career losses by decision.
Lorenz Larkin def. Mukhamed Berkhamov
Lorenz Larkin (25-7 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) improved to 8-3 with one no contest since he dropped to the welterweight division in January 2015.
Larkin’s six-fight Bellator unbeaten streak at welterweight is tied with champion Yaroslav Amosov for the longest active streak in the division.
Larkin earned the first stoppage victory of his Bellator career.
Mukhamed Berkhamov (14-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) had his 15-fight unbeaten streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
Henry Corrales vs. Akhmed Magomedov
Henry Corrales (21-6 MMA, 9-6 BMMA) improved to 2-0 since he returned to the featherweight division.
Akhmed Magomedov (9-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) had his 10-fight unbeaten streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
Steve Mowry def. Ali Isaev
Steve Mowry’s (11-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) eight-fight Bellator unbeaten streak at heavyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Mowry’s eight victories in Bellator heavyweight competition are third-most in divisional history behind Cheick Kong (13) and Tyrell Fortune (12).
Mowry earned the first decision victory of his career.
Ali Isaev (9-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) had his nine-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
Chris Gonzalez def. Max Rohskopf
Max Rohskopf (7-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by knockout.
Diana Avsaragova def. Alejandra Lara
Diana Avsaragova (6-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) three-fight Bellator winning streak at women’s flyweight is the third-longest active streak in the division behind Liz Carmouche (five) and Sumiko Inaba (five).
Alejandra Lara’s (9-7 MMA, 3-6 BMMA) four-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since December 2019.
Lara has suffered six of her seven career losses by decision.
Nikita Mikhailov def. Darrion Caldwell
Nikita Mikhailov (9-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) has earned two of his three Bellator victories by decision.
Darrion Caldwell’s (15-7 MMA, 12-6 BMMA) four-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since January 2020.
Caldwell fell to 2-6 in his past eight fights dating back to December 2018.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 290.
