Bellator MMA presents its first event in Russia on Saturday, October 23 at VTB Arena in Moscow with Fedor Emelianenko going up against fellow-heavyweight Tim Johnson in the headliner of the show. Usman Nurmagomedov got an opponent for his main card bout, while Vitaly Minakov received a new opponent for the co-main event.
Undefeated Nurmagomedov (13-0) won his previous bout in July via first-round TKO against Manny Muro. In April he secured a unanimous decision against Mike Hamel and made a successful promotional debut.
Nurmagomedov takes on Patrik Pietila (11-8), who was last in action in September 2019 when he dropped a unanimous decision against Ryan Roddy. Prior to that he defeated David Bielkheden by UD and submitted Artiom Rogalevich in the first round.
Making his return after two years of layoff, former Bellator heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov (22-1) was initially set to face Tyrell Fortune, who has been replaced by the division’s No. 8 ranked contender Said Sowma (7-2).
Minakov last fought in August 2019 when he knocked out Timothy Johnson in the first round. Sowma stopped Ronny Markes in the first round this past July.
MMA fans can watch Bellator 269: Fedor vs Johnson live stream on Showtime following the prelims on YouTube. Check out the current fight card below.
Bellator 269 fight card
Main Card
- Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Johnson
- Vitaly Minakov vs. Said Sowma
- Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Patrik Pietila
- Andrey Koreshkov vs Rustam Khabilov
Preliminary Card:
- Brian Moore vs. Nikita Mikhailov
- Grachik Bozinyan vs. Ross Houston
- Irina Alekseeva vs. Stephanie lelo Page
- Alexey Shurkevich vs. Christian Eckerlin
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