Fedor Emelianenko’s distinguished 23-year career ended in defeat as Ryan Bader secured a first-round stoppage to retain his heavyweight title at Bellator 290 in Inglewood, California.
American Bader, 39, dropped Russia’s Emelianeko, 46, with a right hand before finishing the contest with ground and pound.
Emelianeko is regarded by many as the greatest heavyweight of all time.
A former champion, he retires with 40 wins from 48 fights.
Following the defeat he was joined in the cage by a host of former opponents and fellow MMA greats including Randy Couture, Mark Coleman and Dan Henderson, before laying his gloves on the canvas.
“On one side I’m sad I didn’t deliver in the fight as I wanted to, but on the other hand I’m glad the crowd here are cheering for me, and all these legendary fighters who I’ve walked the path with are here to support me,” said Emelianenko.
Emelianenko established his legacy in former Japanese promotion Pride, where he became heavyweight champion in the midst of a remarkable 28-fight undefeated streak.
His aura was enhanced by his aggressive style and finishing rate, where his 32 stoppages from 40 victories earned him fans from across the world.
All of his success came outside the UFC leading to critics describing Emelianenko as the best fighter to never compete in the sport’s biggest promotion.
His popularity was evident as he received a terrific ovation from the crowd as he entered the cage for the final time at the Kia Forum area.
At 46 he is the oldest fighter on the Bellator roster and was attempting to become the oldest champion in the promotion’s history.
There was no fairytale ending to Emelianenko’s career however, as just like when the pair first fought in 2019, Bader secured a quick stoppage.
Emelianeko looked to end the fight early with his explosive right hand but failed to land, before a glancing punch from Bader sent him to the canvas.
From there Bader was able to deliver hammerfists on the ground and despite some resistance from Emelianenko, the referee stepped in to end the fight.
In victory, Bader becomes the first person to beat Emelianenko twice and made the fourth defence of his belt.
“It was bittersweet but I had a job to do. Give him a hand for what he’s done for this sport,” said Bader.
“Guy’s a legend right here, I’m so glad I could be part of his story.
“I don’t care about beating him twice, I care about sharing the cage with that man.”
Eblen retains middleweight title
In the co-main event, American Johnny Eblen retained his middleweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Russian Anatoly Tokov.
Eblen, 31, was making the first title defence since his superb win over Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 282 in June.
Eblen was a big underdog going into that fight but showed a variety of strengths in his game to outclass the more experienced Mousasi, and many of the same qualities were on show in the win over Tokov.
There was little between the pair in the early rounds with Tokov, 32, finding success with his jab and Eblen landing a flash elbow, but from the third round the American started to dominate.
As Tokov tired, Eblen’s conditioning shone as he started to mix his striking and wrestling to great effect, landing multiple takedowns which further exhausted the Russian.
Eblen’s performance was capped by a remarkable German suplex in the final round which delighted the crowd inside the arena.
In retaining his title, Eblen extended the unbeaten start to his career to 13 and inflicted the first defeat of Tokov’s eight-fight Bellator career.
Eblen will likely next face the winner of Britain’s Fabian Edwards and Mousasi, who meet in a title eliminator at Bellator Paris on 12 May.
