Bader edges Moldavsky to retain Bellator heavyweight title
Ryan Bader is still the Bellator heavyweight champion.
Bader, the betting underdog, defeated Valentin Moldavsky via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in the Bellator 273 main event Saturday night in Phoenix to retain the title.
Moldavsky was the interim heavyweight champ heading into the fight. This was Bader's first heavyweight title defense since September 2019 when he registered a no-contest against Cheick Kongo.
After the contest, Bellator announced that Bader will defend his belt in a rematch with Kongo on May 6 in Paris. Kongo was in attendance and faced off with Bader in the cage.
Bader-Moldavsky was a grueling affair. It seemed like it'd be anything but that when Bader rocked Moldavsky with a big punch in the opening 30 seconds. However, Moldavsky survived and took Bader down, controlling him for most of the round.
The second and third rounds went in Moldavsky's favor. He landed several takedowns and held the champ against the fence for long periods.
Bader found a second wind in the fourth frame, and what was working for Moldavsky - who started to seem tired - in the earlier rounds stopped. Bader stuffed Moldavsky's takedown attempts and scored multiple level changes of his own.
The fight seemed to come down to the fifth round. Moldavsky spent most of the stanza clinching Bader, but Bader landed elbows to Moldavsky's head with his back against the fence. Bader did more damage and got the judges' nod.
This was Bader's first heavyweight bout since the no-contest versus Kongo more than two years ago, and his first heavyweight win since he claimed the vacant belt against Fedor Emelianenko in January 2019. Bader used to hold the Bellator light heavyweight title, which he lost to Vadim Nemkov in August 2020 in his first appearance since the Kongo fight.
Bader then competed in the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix in 2021, beating Lyoto Machida before suffering a TKO loss to Corey Anderson last October in the semifinals.
Bader, 38, who remained undefeated as a heavyweight, is nine years older than the 29-year-old Moldavsky.
Moldavsky, a protege of heavyweight great Emelianenko, was undefeated in Bellator at 6-0 heading into his first shot at the undisputed title. He won the interim title against Tim Johnson last June. This was Moldavsky's first loss since 2016.