5 takeaways from Bellator 273
Bellator 273 took place from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, last week as the promotion kicked off its 2022 event schedule. It was an eventful night as the the heavyweight championship was unified and homegrown fighters offered an opportunity to shine.
It was a much better night for the hometown heroes as they all came out victorious. This was a redemption of sorts, especially for Ryan Bader and Benson Henderson. Both fighters came out on the losing end the last time the promotion hosted an event at the Footprint Center.
There were many takeaways from this past Saturday’s event. Perha`ps leading the charge is the fact that following the main event, the promotion didn’t waste any time in finding the next contender.
After Bader was awarded the split decision win over Valentin Moldavsky, it was revealed that his next challenger will be Cheick Kongo. Not only is the bout a rematch, but it will serve as the headliner for the promotion’s return to Paris, France.
With that, along with a host of other results, the event certainly produced a host of talking points. In this list, we will look at the five biggest takeaways from Bellator 273.
#5. Former Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell is in a tough spot
Former Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell now finds himself in a tough spot after last weekend’s event. He headlined the prelim portion of the card against TUF: Latin America 2 winner Enrique Barzola. It was his third-straight loss and now puts his back against the wall in terms of options
‘El Fuerte’ finished ‘The Wolf’ with punches and elbows at 3:01 of the third round. The TKO win capped off an impressive debut for the UFC alum, which surely put the bantamweight division on notice.
‘The Wolf’ had moved back to bantamweight following his loss to A.J. McKee in the opening round of the Grand Prix. After losing back-to-back bantamweight bouts against Leandro Higo and Barzola, it’ll be interesting to see what the promotion does with Caldwell.
Perhaps his accomplishments in the promotion will lead to them giving him one more chance.