January 29, 2022 9:40 am ET
Bellator has the major MMA slate to itself Saturday night, and there is plenty on the line at the top of the card.
In the main event, heavyweight champion Ryan Bader (28-7 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) meets interim champ Valentin Moldavsky (11-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) in a title unification bout. And in the co-feature, former UFC and WEC lightweight champ Benson Henderson (28-11 MMA, 5-6 BMMA) takes on Islam Mamedov (20-1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA).
Bader has lost two of his past three fights, but all at light heavyweight. He lost the 205-pound titlle to Vadim Nemkov in August 2020. And while he rebounded in April 2021 with a win over Lyoto Machida in the light heavyweight tournament, he was knocked out by Corey Anderson in less than a minute this past October in the semifinals.
Now Bader will put his heavyweight belt on the line for the first time since a September 2019 no contest with Cheick Kongo. It’s been three years since he won the title against Fedor Emelianenko, and he has not yet successfully defended it. Moldavsky has six straight wins and is nearly a 3-1 favorite.
Henderson has struggled with three straight losses, but hopes a win over Mamedov could put him back in the title picture. It’s been more than five years since he fought for a Bellator title. Mamedov hasn’t lost since July 2009, but Henderson could be his most accomplished opponent yet.
So who has the most at stake at Bellator 273 in Phoenix? That’s what we asked our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Nolan King and Matthew Wells, who broke it down with host John Morgan.
You can check out their discussion above, or watch this week’s full episode below.
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