Ryan Bader is once again Bellator heavyweight champion. The American emerged victorious from his Bellator 273 main event against Russia’s Valentin Moldavsky.
Bader got the W via UD after the fight went the full 5 rounds in Phoenix, US, unifying the heavyweight crown.
The Russia got off to a better start and he was clearly the one dictating the tempo and the distance in the first two rounds. Still, the American was calm and collected and he could even finish the job in the opening seconds of the bout when he landed some powerful combos. He wobbled Moldavsky bad with punches before Moldavsky was able to move the fight to the clinch and stop Bader’s advance.
Moldavsky’s wrestling was once again on point in Round 2 and 3, as he was dominating the fight on the ground and in the clinch, but wasn’t able to put out a lot of offense once he got top position on Bader.
The fight was tied going into the final round Moldavsky’s boxing proved effective in the first half of the round, but Bader used his Muay Thai skills against the fence to stifle Moldavsky.
After five exhausting back-and-forth rounds, the judges gave Bader the 48-47 unanimous decision victory over Moldavsky.
🤯 @RyanBader rocks Moldavsky!
Watch #Bellator273 LIVE on @SHOSports 👇https://t.co/TbKTQ7lKsu pic.twitter.com/vKNeTYab0Y
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) January 30, 2022