Ryan Bader, Valentin Moldavsky to Clash in Heavyweight Title Unification Bout at Bellator 273

Ryan Bader and Valentin Moldavsky will square off in a heavyweight championship unification bout at Bellator 273 on Jan. 29.

Promotion officials announced the headlining matchup on Monday. Bellator 273 takes place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., and will also see former bantamweight king Darrion Caldwell face UFC veteran Enrique Barzola. The evening’s main card will air on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Showtime Sports YouTube channel, the Bellator YouTube channel and Pluto TV.

Bader’s last three promotional appearances have come at light heavyweight. After losing the 205-pound belt in a second-round TKO defeat to Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 244, Bader entered the light heavyweight grand prix, where he outpointed Lyoto Machida in the opening round before falling to Corey Anderson via TKO in just 51 seconds in the semifinals on Oct. 16. The Power MMA Team stalwart claimed heavyweight with a grand prix run that included wins over Muhammad Lawal, Matt Mitrione and Fedor Emelianenko. His lone title defense against Cheick Kongo at Bellator 226 ended via no contest due to an accidental eye poke on Sept. 7, 2019.

Moldavsky, 29, enters the matchup with Bader on a six-bout winning streak within the California-based organization. The Fedorteam representative captured the interim heavyweight belt with a five-round verdict over Timothy Johnson at Bellator 261 on June 25. His ledger also includes victories over the likes of Roy Nelson, Javy Ayala, Linton Vassell and Karl Albrektsson.