Fans were treated to a mixed martial arts (MMA) twofer last night, as Bellator 290 went down inside Kia Forum in Los Angeles, Calif., while UFC Vegas 68 went down inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In Bellator 290’s main event, Ryan Bader disposed of Fedor Emelianenko in the first round for the second time (see it again here), sending “The Last Emperor” into retirement with a loss. Meanwhile, in UFC Vegas 68’s headlining act, Serghei Spivac also scored a first round stoppage win, forcing Derrick Lewis to tap to an arm-triangle choke (highlights).
Biggest Winner (s): Ryan Bader, Serghei Spivac
It was another quick night at the office for “Darth,” who sent Fedor packing in 150 seconds, which is 115 more than it took him the first time. That is now three straight Heavyweight title defenses for Bader, who is now eyeing some new blood for his next challenge. While some may be quick to discredit “Darth” for steamrolling an aging veteran who was on his way out of the sport, the pressure was still on him to not lay an egg and win like most expected. Bader improves to 9-2-1 since moving to Bellator, which has proven to be a rather prosperous move for his career.
On the flips side, Spivac scored himself a rather easy first round victory over Lewis, manhandling “Black Beast” from the jump, not allowing the heavy-handed fighter to fire off any offense in their 265-pound fight. After scoring a takedown early, Spivac started to soften up the big man with shots to the side of the head. Lewis managed to get up, but only for a little bit because he was soon on the mat again. This time he would not get up as Spivac locked in an arm-triangle that had him tapping quickly. That is now three straight wins for Spivac, who is eying a spot in the Top 10 following his latest conquest.
Runner Up: Lorenz Larkin
If you haven’t been putting respect on Larkin’s name, it’s high time you do it. “The Monsoon” scored a vicious standing elbow knockout over Mukhamed Berkhamov in the opening frame at Bellator 290, putting him at 7-0-1 in his last eight outings. The moving up and down in weight classes has hurt Larkin’s title shot aspirations, but if he stays at Welterweight he could be getting closer to that championship fight. Larkin started his Bellator career with two straight losses after making the jump over from UFC, but has looked unstoppable over the last five years. What a great turnaround for the 36-year old.
Biggest Loser: Derrick Lewis
You really thought I was going to put Fedor on here … in his retirement fight … after all he’s done in the sport? Nah. Most expected the final result, so it’s not a big surprise, sadly. Plus, “The Last Emperor” is now retired so win, lose or draw the outcome of the fight wasn’t going to do anything for his career (or legacy) in most peoples’ eyes. The reason Lewis gets the spot is because he has now lost three in a row, all stoppages, with his last win coming in Dec. 2021. Overall, “Black Beast” is 1-3 in his last four fights and will now go tumbling down the Heavyweight rankings after a loss that saw him put zero offensive output. Where it’s gone wrong for Lewis is unclear, but he better find the remedy to get back to the killer he once was pretty quickly before he digs himself a deeper hole he won’t be able to climb out of.
To see complete results for Bellator 290 click here, and for UFC Vegas 68 click here.