Bader vs Emelianenko

Who won Bader vs Emelianenko?

Ryan Bader beat Fedor Emelianenko by knockout in the 1st round during the main event of Bellator 290, on Saturday 4th February 2023 at Kia Forum in Inglewood.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 265 pounds (18.9 stone or 120.2 KG).

This contest was for the Bellator heavyweight championship.

Bader vs Emelianenko stats

Ryan Bader stepped into the octagon with a record of 30 wins, 7 losses and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Fedor Emelianenko made his way to the cage with a record of 40 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws, 16 of those wins coming by knock out and 15 by submission.

Ryan Bader's Bellator record stood at 9-3-0, while Fedor Emelianenko's came in at 4-3-0.

The stats suggested that Bader and Emelianenko have similar power, both with a 40% knock out percentage.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Emelianenko had a large advantage over Bader, boasting a 38% submission rate over Bader's 10%.

Ryan Bader was the younger man by 7 years, at 40 years old.

Bader had a height advantage of 2 inches over Emelianenko. Despite this, Emelianenko had 1-inch reach advantage.

Bader was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 9 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2007, 6 years and 10 months later than Emelianenko, whose first professional fight was in 2000. He had fought 21 more professional rounds, 90 to Emelianenko's 69.

Bader vs Emelianenko form

Ryan Bader had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Cheick Kongo at Bellator 280 on 6th May 2022 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Heavyweight championship fight at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

Previous to that, he had beaten Valentin Moldavsky at Bellator 273 on 29th January 2022 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Heavyweight championship fight at Footprint Center, Phoenix, United States.

Going into that contest, he had lost to Corey Anderson at Bellator 266 on 16th October 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Footprint Center, Phoenix.

Before that, he had defeated Lyoto Machida at Bellator 256 on 9th April 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

He had been beaten by Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 244 on 21st August 2020 by knockout in the 2nd round in their Bellator Light Heavyweight championship fight at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Fedor Emelianenko had stopped 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he was victorious against Timothy Johnson at Bellator MMA on 23rd October 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at VTB Arena, Moscow, Russia.

Previous to that, he had won against Quinton Jackson at Bellator 237 on 28th December 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Going into that contest, he had been defeated by Ryan Bader at Bellator 214 on 26th January 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at The Forum, Los Angeles, United States.

Before that, he had beaten Chael Sonnen at Bellator 208 on 13th October 2018 by knockout in the 1st round at Nassau Coliseum, Long Island.

He had defeated Frank Mir at Bellator 198 on 28th April 2018 by knockout in the 1st round at AllState Arena, Rosemont.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Ryan Bader had been fighting more than Fedor Emelianenko.

Going to this contest, Ryan Bader had last fought 1 year, 11 months and 20 days ago, while Fedor Emelianenko's last outing had been 2 years, 6 months and 3 days ago.

Bader's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 8 months and 5 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 25 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 18 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.6 rounds on average.

Emelianenko's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 11 months and 29 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 2 months and 14 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 5 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Bader vs Emelianenko?

Ryan Bader was a 2/7 (-340) favourite going into the contest, while Fedor Emelianenko made his way into the ring at 12/5 (+240) with oddsmakers.