Bellator 273: Bader vs. Moldavsky was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event produced by Bellator MMA, it took place on January 29, 2022 at the

Footprint Center Footprint Center (formerly known as America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena and Phoenix Suns Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Built in the regional population center of the southwestern United Sta ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

Background

A winner in eight of his last 11 bouts, Bader will be making his return to the heavyweight division for the first time since 2019, Bader’s last title defense came against the

Cheick Kongo Cheick Kongo is a French heavyweight Mixed Martial artist and former Kickboxer who fights in Bellator MMA. A professional MMA competitor since 2001, he has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of May 10, 2022, he is #4 in the ...

at Bellator 226 , a bout Bader was controlling until an accidental eye poke prematurely ended the contest. Since then, Bader lost his 205-pound title against

Vadim Nemkov Vadim Aleksandrovich Nemkov (russian: Вадим Александрович Немков; born 20 June 1992) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and a four-time Combat Sambo World Champion. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweig ...

before entering the light heavyweight grand prix where he defeated

Lyoto Machida (born 30 May 1978), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and karateka, who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light ...

in April before suffering a KO loss to Corey Anderson in October at

Bellator 268 Bellator 268: Nemkov vs. Anglickas (also known as ''Bellator Phoenix'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on October 16, 2021, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Background The ev ...

. Moldavsky, a protege of

Fedor Emelianenko Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko ( rus, Фёдор Влади́мирович Емелья́ненко, r=Fyodor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko, p=ˈfʲɵdər vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪˈlʲjænʲɪnkə, IPA; born ...

, became Bellator’s first-ever interim heavyweight champion with a unanimous decision win over Timothy Johnson at

Bellator 261 Bellator 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on June 25, 2021, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background With current heavyweight champion Ryan Bader moving on ...

. A middleweight bout between Romero Cotton and Dalton Rosta was scheduled for this event. However, two weeks before the event Cotton pulled out of the bout due to illness and was replaced by Duane Johnson. A featherweight bout between Weber Almeida and Josh Wright was scheduled for this event, however it was scrapped due to unknown reasons. Fabricio Franco was instead booked against Weber. At weigh ins, Franco came in 151.2 lb - 5.2 pounds over the featherweight weight limit, leading to the bout being scrapped.

Results

References

{{2022 in mixed martial arts Bellator MMA events Events in Phoenix, Arizona 2022 in mixed martial arts January 2022 sports events in the United States 2022 in sports in Arizona Mixed martial arts in Arizona Sports competitions in Arizona

Background

Results

See also

References