Yoel Romero’s pursuit of a mixed martial arts world title will have to wait a little bit longer.
The Cuban, 45, who is 2-0 in the Bellator cage after making his debut for the organisation in 2022 was due to challenge Russian fighter and Fedor Emelianenko protege Vadim Nemkov for his light heavyweight title at Bellator 290 in February but it was announced Tuesday that the bout has been removed from the card due for Los Angeles on Feb 4.
Nemkov has been undefeated in the cage since 2016 and was last seen earning a unanimous five-round decision against Corey Anderson in November in the finals of Bellator’s light heavyweight Grand Prix — earning $1 million in the process.
The fight, which was to be the co-main event on the card, will be replaced by the 12-0 middleweight champion Johnny Eblen who will fight 31-3 Russian Anatoly Tokov.
The event is set to be headlined by a Bellator heavyweight title fight between Ryan Bader and the legendary Fedor Emelianenko, in what is expected to be the final fight of the Russian veteran’s legendary career.
