Bellator

Bellator 273 Concludes Announcing Major Title Fight in Paris

Bellator revealed a major title fight as it is heading back to Paris. At Bellator 273, the promotion revealed that Bader (29-7 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) will defend his title against Cheick Kongo (31-11-2 MMA, 13-3 BMMA) in Paris. The fight night will take place on May 6 at Accor Arena, in Paris, France.

At Bellator 273, interim heavyweight champion Valentin Moldavsky attempted to unify the belt against undisputed champ Ryan Bader. Moldavsky, a student of Fedor Emelianenko, has won his past six bouts including his interim title win over Tim Johnson. Bader took on the interim champ in the main event of Saturday night’s Bellator 273 fight card at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, and took home a hard-fought unanimous decision, earning scores of 48-47 across the board to keep the belt.

Kongo was at the cageside in Phoenix and was brought into the cage for a brief and civil faceoff with Bader just moments after Bader’s grinding 25-minute win. After Bader was declared the winner, Cheick Kongo entered the cage and Bellator announced the champ will defend his title in a rematch, which is set for May 6 in Paris.

In the co-main event, former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson took on Islam Mamedov. Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson entered the co-main event on the longest losing streak of his career, taking on Islam Mamedov, who was riding a 19-fight winning streak. Henderson fired up his hometown crowd and battled back and forth for a big upset win via split decision.

Main Card

Ryan Bader def. Valentin Moldavsky via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

Benson Henderson def. Islam Mamedov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Henry Corrales def. Aiden Lee via unanimous technical decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Sabah Homasi def. Jaleel Willis via submission (arm-triangle choke) – R1, 1:42

Preliminary Card

Enrique Barzola def. Darrion Caldwell via TKO (strikes) – R3, 3:01

Chris Gonzalez def. Saad Awad via KO (head kick and punches) – R1, 0:36

Dalton Rosta def. Duane Johnson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Nikita Mikhailov def. Blaine Shutt via TKO (strikes) – R1, 3:23

Lucas Brennan def. Ben Lugo via submission (arm-triangle choke) – R1, 2:27

Sullivan Cauley def. Ben Parrish via TKO (strikes) – R1, 4:35

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Hari Bhagirath is the former Chief Creative Officer at BRAVE Combat Federation. Currently, he heads Strategic Relations and Financial Communication for a major Fortune 100 organization. He is also the co-founder of Totem Capital, a private wealth management initiative.

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