Ryan Bader returned to Bellator MMA’s heavyweight division like a man coming back from a two-year trip to find a squatter in his home.
In the main event of Bellator 273 on Saturday in his home state of Arizona, “Darth” turned away interim champ Valentin Moldavsky via unanimous decision, unifying the Bellator heavyweight title that had been split since Moldavsky and Timothy Johnson met at Bellator 261 last summer for the interim belt. Afterward, the former two-division champ stated that he planned to stay at heavyweight, apparently conceding that his 1-2 run at light heavyweight over the past two years marked the end of his exploits there.