Bellator 290 Lineup Official for Feb. 4, Includes Mowry-Isaev & Darrion Caldwell

#Bellator290 on @CBS adds four new fights for Feb. 4 including undefeated heavyweights @TallSteveMMA and Ali Isaev.

Plus Lorenz Larkin (@da_MONSOON) vs. Mukhamed Berkhamov and former champ Darrion Caldwell (@TheWolfMMA) vs. Nikita Mikhailov.

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More here:https://t.co/ArK3pUrGeK

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) January 6, 2023

The first Bellator MMA show of 2023 is shaping up to be one to remember.

Per a press release on Friday, the organization finalized its lineup for Bellator 290 on Feb. 4. While most of the bout listings – including the three main card tilts of Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko, Johnny Eblen vs. Anatoly Tokov and Sabah Homasi vs. Brennan Ward – had already been made official, the preliminary slate is now fully on the books. Of note, Bellator added a heavyweight clash of the unbeatens between Steve Mowry (10-0, 1 NC) and Ali Isaev (9-0) to its billing.

Bellator 290 will be the promotion’s first jaunt on the CBS network, as it had previously put on all of its recent cards of late on Showtime in the U.S. On Saturday, Feb. 4, the three-fight main card will be airing simulcast on CBS and Paramount+. The prelims will go up live on Bellator’s YouTube channel as well as Pluto TV. Headlining the latter is a welterweight contest between former title challenger Neiman Gracie (11-4) and Michael Lombardo (13-3, 1 NC) that had already been announced in the past.

Mowry will be looking to get back in the win column in 2023, as his lone 2022 outing ended in 54 seconds by no contest due to an accidental eye poke against Valentin Moldavsky. Mowry has never seen a third round as a professional, with his 10 pro wins coming by stoppage. Isaev also comes into this match unbeaten, although he has not competed since he conquered the 2019 season of Professional Fighters League at heavyweight. While the 39-year-old from Russia has not competed since the final day in 2019, Mowry has fought four times since then, with three first-round stoppages to his credit.

Other than Mowry-Isaev, Lorenz Larkin (24-7, 2 NC) will run it back at 170 pounds against Mukhamed Berkhamov (14-0, 1 NC). The two first met at Bellator 283 in July 2022, and after a few minutes of Berkhamov in top position, Larkin connected with an illegal elbow to the back of the head to force a no contest. Additionally, former bantamweight kingpin Darrion Caldwell (15-6) will be on the hunt for his first victory in years, as he tries to break a three-fight skid against Nikita Mikhailov (8-2). Both men suffered their most recent defeats to Enrique Barzola, and in the Russian’s case, Barzola put an end to a five-fight win streak.

Bellator 290 Lineup:

Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko – heavyweight championship
Johnny Eblen vs. Anatoly Tokov – middleweight championship
Sabah Homasi vs. Brennan Ward – welterweight
Neiman Gracie vs. Michael Lombardo – welterweight
Lorenz Larkin vs. Mukhamed Berkhamov – welterweight
Henry Corrales vs. Akhmed Magomedov – featherweight
Steve Mowry vs. Ali Isaev – heavyweight
Christopher Gonzalez vs. Max Rohskopf – lightweight
Grant Neal vs. Karl Albrektsson – light heavyweight
Alejandra Lara vs. Diana Avsaragova – women’s flyweight
Darrion Caldwell vs. Nikita Mikhailov – bantamweight
Jaylon Bates vs. Jornel Lugo – bantamweight
Isaiah Hokit vs. Peter Ishiguro – featherweight
Ethan Hughes vs. Yusuf Karakaya – welterweight