Bellator 269 Weigh-in Results: Fedor, Johnson on Target for Headliner; 2 Prelims Canceled

Although no main card matchup suddenly shifted weight classes the night before weigh-ins, there was plenty of drama to go around at the Bellator MMA weight ceremony on Friday morning.

Ten fights will now go down at the VTB Arena in Moscow on Saturday at Bellator 269, with none more important than legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko (39-6, 1 NC) as he says farewell to Russian crowds and faces on Tim Johnson (15-7). There were to be 12 come fight night, but the lightweight matchup between Vladimir Tokov and Aymard Guih fell off on Friday morning in Russia when Guih was not medically cleared. Although all of the main card competitors hit their marks, two preliminary fighters came in heavy and one bout was scratched as a result.

This will be the 45-year-old Emelianenko’s first appearance since he knocked Quinton Jackson out in December 2019. Dating back the last five years, every one of the Russian’s fights has ended by first-round knockout, win or lose. While he has been knocked out by Matt Mitrione and Ryan Bader, he has stopped Frank Mir, Chael Sonnen and the aforementioned Jackson on his Bellator run. Never coming close to the heavyweight cap, Emelianenko weighed in at 233.5 pounds.

Johnson fell short in his last outing for the interim heavyweight strap, when Valentin Moldavsky controlled him for the better part of five rounds. The win put an end to a run that saw the North Dakota native knock Tyrell Fortune and Mitrione out, while taking a split decision over Cheick Kongo in their rematch. Walking in wearing blue jeans, a baseball cap and a blue Bellator facial covering, the American will have over 30 pounds on his opponent after weighing 264 ready pounds.

Two fighters missed weight: Aiden Lee (147.5)*, who came in 1.5 pounds heavy for his featherweight scrap with Alexander Osetrov. He has been fined a percentage of his purse, and the fight will go on. Gadzhi Rabadanov (148.8)** missed weight as well, and his featherweight fight with Alexander Belikh has been canceled. Additionally, the flyweight pairing between Irina Alekseeva (129.9) and Stephanie Ielo Page (124.5) has been shifted to a 130-pound catchweight affair after the weigh-ins concluded.

Inside the VTB Arena in Moscow, Bellator 269 takes place on Saturday with its main card on Showtime in the U.S. and Okko in Russia, beginning at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT/10 p.m. MSK. The preliminary offering kicks off on the Bellator YouTube channel at 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT/7:30 p.m. MSK.

Bellator 269 Weigh-in Results:

Fedor Emelianenko (233.5) vs. Tim Johnson (264)
Vitaly Minakov (265) vs. Said Sowma (243)
Usman Nurmagomedov (160) vs. Patrik Pietila (158.5)
Anatoly Tokov (185) vs. Sharaf Davlatmurodov (186)
Kirill Sidelnikov (264) vs. Rab Truesdale (247)
Darina Mazdyuk (125) vs. Katarzyna Sadura (125.5)
Irina Alekseeva (129.9) vs. Stephanie Ielo Page (124.5)
Brian Moore (136) vs. Nikita Mikhailov (135.5)
Grachik Bozinyan (170) vs. Alexey Shurkevich (171)
Aiden Lee (147.5)* vs. Alexander Osetrov (145.5)
Gadzhi Rabadanov (148.8)** vs. Alexander Belikh (146)

* Lee missed weight by 1.5 pounds and has been fined a percentage of his purse.
** Rabadanov missed weight by 2.8 pounds and the fight has been canceled.