Former two-weight champion Ryan Bader puts his heavyweight title on the line, when he faces the division’s interim titleholder Valentin Moldavsky on Saturday, January 29 headlining Bellator 273 fight card at Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury. The pair squares off in the scheduled for five rounds championship bout live stream on Showtime.
The date when MMA event airs live in the UK and Australia is Sunday, January 30.
Bellator 273 tickets
Bellator 273 tickets to witness all the action at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, January 29 go on sale Thursday, December 16. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.com and Bellator.com. A special presale will be taking place the day prior.
A former two-division champion, Ryan Bader (28-7, 1 NC) has had nothing but high-profile bouts since signing with Bellator MMA in 2017, defeating Fedor Emelianenko, King Mo, Matt Mitrione, Linton Vassell, Lyoto Machida, Phil Davis and has gone toe-to-toe with Vadim Nemkov, Corey Anderson and Cheick Kongo. A winner in eight of his last 11 bouts, Arizona State University’s “Darth” Bader will once again have a partisan crowd in attendance when he meets Valentin Moldavksy at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.
Making his return to the heavyweight division for the first time since 2019, Bader’s last title defense came against the aforementioned Kongo, a bout Bader was controlling until an accidental eye poke prematurely ended the contest.
The winner of the first-ever interim title in Bellator history, Valentin Moldavsky (11-1) became Bader’s mandatory challenger following a dominant win over Tim Johnson at Bellator 261. Training under the tutelage of heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko, Moldavsky has begun carving out his own legacy, accruing a perfect 6-0 record within the confines of the Bellator cage.
A multi-time European Sambo champion, Moldavsky has defeated top heavyweight contenders such as Johnson, Javy Ayala, Linton Vassell, and Roy Nelson on his climb to the top. Born in Ukraine, the 30-year-old looks to join teammate Vadim Nemkov and become the undisputed champion of the heavyweight division on January 29.
Darrion Caldwell (14-5)
Also on the night former Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell (14-5) returns to action against the promotional newcomer and winner of Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2, Enrique Barzola (16-5-2).
Other bouts featured on Bellator 273 fight card are expected to be announced shortly. The current lineup can be found below.
Bellator 273 fight card
- Ryan Bader vs. Valentin Moldavsky – Bader’s Bellator heavyweight title
- Darrion Caldwell vs. Enrique Barzola
The post Ryan Bader vs Valentin Moldavsky tops Bellator 273 in Phoenix, tickets appeared first on FIGHTMAG.