#AndStill | @RyanBader unifies the heavyweight division and retains his title tonight at #Bellatro273. pic.twitter.com/5lN7yNxzAy
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) January 30, 2022
The Power MMA Team stalwart retained his heavyweight crown in the Bellator 273 main event, winning a hard-fought unanimous decision against interim title holder Valentin Moldavsky at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on Saturday night. All three judges submitted 48-47 scorecards in favor of Bader, who was defending the belt for the first time since September 2019.
“I thought that fight was really close,” Bader said. “I thought I was doing more damage, rocking him. I knew it was close going to the bell.”
Bader (29-7, 7-2, 1 NC Bellator) nearly put Moldavsky (11-2, 6-1 Bellator) away in short order when he wobbled his Russian adversary with a pair of heavy right hands early in Round 1. However, Moldavsky utilized the clinch to regain his wits and both heavyweights settled in for a long, grueling affair.
For much of the next 10 minutes, it was Moldavsky imposing his will through grinding clinch work, takedowns and top control. But just when it appeared that Bader had nothing left in the tank, the former University of Arizona State wrestling standout turned the tide in Round 4, stuffing a Moldavsky shot while landing multiple takedowns of his own. That set the stage for a tense final period in which Moldavsky scrambled to Bader’s back on a takedown attempt before driving his opponent into the fence. From there, Bader denied his foe’s takedown efforts while landing a series of short elbows and punches to the side of the head — a salvo which likely made the difference in the eyes of the judges. Moldavsky closed the show with one final high-amplitude takedown in the waning seconds, but it wasn’t enough to sway the scorecards in his favor.
“I did more damage,” Bader said. “I was just hoping for the first time in my life they weren’t judging the wrestling, they were judging the strikes.”
In the co-main event, a resourceful Benson Henderson ended the 20-fight unbeaten streak of Islam Mamedov, winning a split decision in a grueling lightweight clash. Judges Eric Colon and Anthony Maness submitted 29-28 tallies for Henderson (29-11, 6-6 Bellator), while Ron McCarthy saw it 29-28 in favor of Mamedov (20-2-1, 1-1 Bellator).
Henderson threatened to end things early, when he ensnared Mamedov in a tight guillotine in the opening stanza. “Smooth” maintained his squeeze for quite some time, but Mamedov kept his cool and eventually popped his head free late in the round. The grappling was fast and furious in the second frame, as Mamedov used a failed guillotine attempt by Henderson to assume top position, and the Professional Fighters League veteran later threatened with a pair of rear-naked chokes. Henderson, meanwhile, rolled and attacked with a knee bar and a heel hook, both of which Mamedov was able to successfully defend.
The decisive third round was closely contested. Henderson landed the better offense on the feet before Mamedov closed the distance and secured a takedown with less than 3:00 remaining. Henderson again rolled for a knee bar, but Mamedov defended well while creating space to land periodic ground-and-pound from above. Ultimately, it was Henderson who emerged with the fifth split-decision triumph of his professional tenure, ending a three-bout skid in the process.
Elsewhere, a featherweight clash between Henry Corrales and Aiden Lee ended prematurely when Lee was rendered unable to continue due to an accidental eye poke early in the third round. As a result, the bout was scored where it ended, and Corrales emerged with a unanimous technical decision after receiving scorecards of 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 from the cageside judges.
Corrales (20-6, 8-6 Bellator) was the aggressor for the majority of the contest, as he worked to get inside against his taller, rangier opponent. Corrales did his most effective work with leg kicks, though he also knocked Lee (10-6, 3-3 Bellator) off balance with a left hook early in Round 1 and threatened with a guillotine choke before briefly assuming top position in the second stanza. Lee, meanwhile, was largely content to circle on the outside of the cage while attempting to pick his spots with straight punches and the occasional kick. Lee appeared to be fighting with a greater sense of urgency in the final round before the foul ended his night.
Corrales has won three of his last four appearances within the California-based promotion.
In the evening’s opening main card bout, American Top Team product Sabah Homasi made short work of ex-Legacy Fighting Alliance title holder Jaleel Willis in a featured welterweight affair. Homasi (16-10, 5-4 Bellator) used an arm-triangle choke to elicit a tapout from his opponent at the 1:42 mark of Round 1 for his first submission triumph in more than seven years.
“The Sleek Sheik” chopped away at Willis’ lead leg with kicks in the early going before closing the distance and taking his foe’s back from a standing position. From there, Homasi slammed Willis (15-4, 3-2 Bellator) to the canvas and briefly threatened with a rear-naked choke before transitioning to the arm-triangle choke. Homasi’s squeeze was tight enough that he didn’t even need to clear his left leg from inside Willis’ guard to secure the submission.
Willis has now lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his professional career.
In preliminary action: 10-time UFC veteran Enrique Barzola (17-5-2, 1-0 Bellator) made a statement in his promotional debut, gradually wearing down ex-bantamweight king Darrion Caldwell (15-6, 12-6 Bellator) for a technical knockout victory 3:01 into Round 3 at 135 pounds; Team Alpha Male member Christopher Gonzalez (7-1, 6-1 Bellator) starched Saad Awad (24-14, 12-11 Bellator) with a left head kick and sealed his win with follow-up punches on the canvas 36 seconds into the opening frame of their lightweight encounter; American Top Team export Dalton Rosta (6-0, 6-0 Bellator) cruised to a unanimous verdict against Duane Johnson (6-3, 1-1 Bellator) at middleweight; Fedorteam representative Nikita Mikhailov (8-1, 2-0 Bellator) put away Blaine Shutt (8-6, 0-2 Bellator) with punches from back mount 3:23 into the third round of their bantamweight clash; 21-year-old Frisco, Texas, native Lucas Brennan (6-0, 6-0 Bellator) remained perfect, tapping out Ben Lugo (5-5, 0-1 Bellator) with an arm-triangle choke at the 2:27 mark of Round 1 at featherweight; and in the evening’s opening bout, Power MMA team prospect Sullivan Cauley (3-0, 3-0 Bellator) overwhelmed Ben Parrish (5-2, 1-1 Bellator) with ground-and-pound for a technical knockout victory 4:35 into Round 1 at light heavyweight.