Fedor Emelianenko took part in his final pre-fight press conference earlier today (Weds., Feb. 1, 2023), going face-to-face with Bellator MMA Heavyweight champion, Ryan Bader, ahead of their championship rematch this Saturday night (Feb. 4) inside Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California.
The two men were on hand to field questions from the media ahead of what will be “The Last Emperor’s” final fight of his storied combat career. Bader initially knocked out Emelianenko in just 35 seconds (see it here) back in Jan. 2019, and now he looks to go up 2-0 against the greatest Heavyweight of all time.
For Fedor, it’s his chance to get one back and ride off into the sunset as a champion. Should that happen, the promotion will have a big choice to make to see which two men fight for the vacant strap ... or go ahead and stage another Grand Prix event.
Also on hand was Middleweight champion, Johnny Eblen, as he gets set for his first-ever title defense against Anatoloy Tokov, who has yet to taste defeat inside the Bellator cage, winning his first seven fights with the promotion. Eblen, meanwhile, is undefeated (15-0, 8-0 Bellator) and won the title by defeating Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 282 last summer.
Rounding out on the main card — which will mark the promotion’s debut on CBS — will be a Welterweight fight between Sabah Homasi and Brennan Ward.
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