Ryan Bader is currently set to fight Valentin Moldavsky at Bellator 273. Despite his focus being on the interim champion, there’s still a massive looming figure in the form of Fedor Emelianenko.
‘Darth’ defeated the Russian in the finals of the 2018 Bellator heavyweight Grand-Prix. With the win, Bader became one of the few to defeat the legend, and also claimed the promotion’s heavyweight title.
Ryan Bader returned back down to light-heavyweight following a title defense against Cheick Kongo. Following a 1-2 run in the division where he once reigned, he’s now back up to heavyweight to defend his throne.
In his absence, Emelianenko’s protege Moldavsky captured the interim heavyweight strap with a win over Tim Johnson. Thus, setting up a title unification bout at Bellator 273.
Ahead of the massive heavyweight showdown, Ryan Bader spoke with media and said he would be open to a rematch with Fedor Emelianenko. However, he also noted that the fight would be a “lose-lose” situation for him.
Bellator 273: Ryan Bader Says Fedor Rematch Seems Like "a Lose-Lose Situation" via @ELaw32 #MMA #Bellator273 #BellatorNation https://t.co/wlGPUhJMRy
— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) January 28, 2022
“I’m open to it, but I haven’t really thought about it too much. I want to focus on this fight, go out there and win this fight. Then, see what the win side of that would look like for me. Because right now, looking at that, it’s like a lose-lose situation. I can’t beat him any better than I did. It is a big fight, any Fedor fight is a big fight, especially his last retirement fight, but we’ll cross that bridge when it comes.”- Bader said to the media at Bellator 273 media day.
While Ryan Bader has a potential fight with Emelianenko in the back of his mind, he has a tall task ahead of him on Saturday.
Valentin Moldavsky comes into the fight with a six-fight winning streak. During that stretch, he defeated names such as Tim Johnson, Roy Nelson, and Linton Vassell.
Would you be interested in seeing a rematch between Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko?