Bellator 290 predictions — Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko: Fight card, odds, prelims, preview, expert picks

MMA returns to CBS on Saturday night when Bellator 290 becomes the first card to air on the network since 2010. The event will be held at Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.
In the main event, Ryan Bader will defend the Bellator heavyweight championship against Fedor Emelianenko. The fight will be the final one in the legendary career of Emelianenko, who is one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport. The pair met previously, with Bader taking just 35 seconds to score the TKO victory, winning the then-vacant championship and the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix in 2019. Bader has since successfully defended his title twice.
There’s another championship fight on the card as undefeated Johnny Eblen defends his middleweight title against Anatoly Tokov. The fight is Eblen’s first defense since winning the belt with a dominant performance against Gegard Mousasi in June 2022. Tokov has won seven straight since debuting in Bellator, five of those wins coming by stoppage.
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Elsewhere on the card, Sabah Homasi and Brennan Ward are sure to get the blood pumping for fans around the world when they open the main card. Homasi has built a reputation as a madman inside the cage with five of his last seven bouts ending in a finish. He enters on a two-fight win streak with hopes of joining the short list of title contenders at welterweight. Ward, meanwhile, returned from a five-year absence in 2022 as he battled drug and alcohol addiction. He scored a pair of TKO wins as he has finished 11 of the 16 opponents he has beaten in his career.
Plus, the prelims fill out with fighters on the rise looking to move into title contention. Former interim welterweight title challenger Neiman Gracie is back when he takes on Dante Schiro. Heavyweight contender Steve Mowry returns to take on Ali Isaev. And former bantamweight titleholder Darrion Caldwell is back when he takes on Nikita Mikhailov.
With so much happening on Saturday night, let’s take a closer look at the full fight card with the latest odds from Caesars Sportsbook before we get to our staff predictions and picks.
Bellator 290 card, odds
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
Ryan Bader (c) -330 vs. Fedor Emelianenko +260, heavyweight championship
Johnny Eblen (c) -300 vs. Anatoly Tokov +240, middleweight championship
Sabah Homasi -190 vs.Brennan Ward +160, welterweight
Neiman Gracie -280 vs. Dante Schiro +230, welterweight
Mukhamed Berkhamov -200 vs. Lorenz Larkin +170, welterweight
Akhmed Magomedov -575 vs. Henry Corrales +425, featherweight
Steve Mowry -130 vs. Ali Isaev +110, heavyweight
Chris Gonzalez -195 vs. Max Rohskopf +165, lightweight
Karl Albrektsson -140 vs. Grant Neal +120, light heavyweight
Alejandra Lara -130 vs. Diana Avsaragova +110, women’s flyweight
Nikita Mikhailov -140 vs. Darrion Caldwell +120, bantamweight
Jornel Lugo -300 vs. Jaylon Bates +240, bantamweight
Isaiah Hokit -380 vs. Peter Ishiguro +300, featherweight
Yusuf Karakaya -150 vs. Ethan Hughes +125, welterweight
With such a massive main event on tap, the crew at CBS Sports went ahead with predictions and picks for the main card. Here are your pick makers: Brent Brookhouse (Combat sports writer), Brian Campbell (Combat sports writer, co-host of “Morning Kombat”), Shakiel Mahjouri (writer) and Brandon Wise (senior editor).
Bellator 290 picks, predictions
Campbell Brookhouse Mahjouri Wise Bader (c) vs. Emelianenko Bader Bader Bader Bader Eblen (c) vs. Tokov Tokov Eblen Eblen Tokov Homasi vs. Ward Homasi Ward Homasi Ward
Bader vs. Emelianenko
Campbell: For as romantic as the idea of Emelianenko capping a storied 23-year career by walking away as champion, Bader remains as tough of a matchup as he was when he finished Fedor in 35 seconds back in 2019. Yes, Emelianenko still wields a dangerous mix of speed and power in his hands and is capable of ending a fight with one strike. But both his stamina and punch resistance remain far below the standard of elite MMA at the title level. Should Bader, an accomplished wrestler, stick to the game plan of tiring Emelianenko out by taking him to the ground, the dream of a storybook ending could quickly turn into a nightmare.
Brookhouse: It pains me to pick Bader here. Emelianenko is a legend in every sense of the word. But he is also 46, badly faded from his peak and his once great chin is no longer able to reliably hold up to the power always present in the heavyweight division. Bader possesses the kind of style that is just a bad matchup for this version of Emelianenko. Bader can grind down Emelianenko with wrestling, depleting the Russian’s gas tank and taking over the fight. Or, Bader could do what he did in the first fight and just blast Emelianenko early. Emelianenko still possesses enough power to finish a fight if he lands but the fairy tale ending seems unlikely.
Eblen vs. Tokov
Campbell: Eblen’s breakthrough title victory over Mousasi was impressive in just about every category. The unbeaten wrestler beat Mousasi to the punch throughout and relied on his motor to push an aggressive pace in a five-round decision win. But the one thing he still lacks through 12 pro fights is an extended level of experience, which Tokov, who is one year older at 32, has nearly double as a professional. Tokov, a native of Russia and talented member of Fedor Emelianenko’s growing team, is 7-0 since making his Bellator debut in 2017. He is also physically strong enough, particularly in the clinch, to keep Eblen from dominating him on the ground. Tokov has been looking for a breakout moment of his own, similar to what Eblen achieved against Mousasi. And he’s well-rounded and durable enough to be a live enough dog who is capable of adding yet another world title to the Team Fedor gym.
Brookhouse: It’s easy to look at Tokov’s experience edge as a big plus, but experience doesn’t mean a ton in a heads-up fight, nor does Tokov have many fights against “top-level competition.” Tokov is a heavy hitter and very strong, but Eblen is a master at forcing his will on opponents. Mousasi is not an easy man to completely erase from being competitive and that’s exactly what Eblen did. This is likely to be the hardest fight of Eblen’s young career, but he should be up to the task and be able to find a way to grind out a win.
Mahjouri: This is a toss-up. Eblen’s one-sided domination over Mousasi was eye-opening for a fighter who is relatively young in the game. Tokov has nearly three times as much pro experience as Eblen with far less mileage than Mousasi. Tokov is a powerhouse and should yield a slight advantage in striking. Eblen is a stellar wrestler, but his ability to knock down Mousasi showed that his overall game is developing well. The biggest mystery is how well Eblen deals with adversity. Tokov hits like a truck and had the willpower to endure a tough first round against Gerald Harris. Eblen has a larger advantage in grappling than Tokov does in striking. For that reason, I’ll side with the champ.
Homasi vs. Ward
Brookhouse: Should this fight play out as it appears it will on paper, it’s going to be a fantastic way to bring MMA back to CBS. Both men are aggressive and dangerous on the feet. There has been plenty of talk from both that they are willing to go out and trade strikes. Should that happen, the fight may simply come down to who lands the first bomb. Ward’s story is a good one, returning to MMA after trouble with the law and drug addiction as he’s scored two straight stoppage wins. Predicting who will win a slugfest between fairly evenly-matched fighters is something of a guessing game, but Ward may have the slight edge on pure power.
Mahjouri: Homasi vs. Ward has Fight of the Night written all over it, if not Fight of the Weekend. Nearly 88% of the pair’s fights end in a stoppage, most of them knockouts. Ward returned from a five-year layoff in 2022 and defeated two unheralded fighters. It was a responsible decision for Ward to take some tune-up fights before taking on ranked opposition. Homasi is certainly not the most consistent fighter, but he can hit remarkably hard. It would be touching to see Ward enter the welterweight top 10 after overcoming his personal demons, but Homasi is more likely to land the fight-ending blow.