Kirill Sidelnikov talks Bellator 269 finish after two year hiatus

Kirill Sidelnikov bested Rab Truesdale via first-round TKO in the final undercard bout for Bellator 269 on Saturday, October 23rd. The heavyweight clash went down at VTB Arena in Moscow, Russia, and broadcast on Showtime.

This victory transpired in a bit over two minutes. It marked the sixth career finish via strikes for Sidelnikov. This was his first bout to end inside the distance in over half a decade.

Baby Fedor with the domination. 🇷🇺💥

What a way to close out the #Bellator269 @MonsterEnergy Prelims, fueled by @ampm, with an emphatic TKO from the Fedor Team protégé.

Catch the #Bellator 269 main card LIVE next on @SHOSports at 3pm EST/12pm PST. pic.twitter.com/Hxdom6cuoS

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 23, 2021

This Bellator MMA contest saw Sidelnikov advance his MMA record to 13-6 overall. Baby Fedor now has back-to-back victories under the Bellator banner.

It’s apropos that the man who has long bore the moniker of Baby Fedor got a victory on a card headlined by Fedor Emelianenko. Emelianenko notched a classic first-round KO over number two ranked Timothy Johnson. It was a night where many Team Fedor compatriots showed out.

The 33-year-old mixed martial artist out of Stary Oskol, Russia has been competing for just shy of fifteen years. Kirill Sidelnikov has previously plied his trade on circuits like M1, Affliction, Rizin FF, and Fight Nights Global.

The multi-time combat sambo world champion looks to keep climbing the heavyweight hierarchy. Mapping out a path towards world title accolades within mixed martial arts.

I spoke with Sidelnikov at the post-fight media day and the excerpts from our interaction are below.

Kirill Sidelnikov

The fac it has been two years since Kirill Sidelnikov last competed and how he felt returning after that competitive hiatus

“I was helping my team to get to the level. Once I did that, I was pretty much ready for anything.”

Kirill Sidelnikov not scoring a finish in close to six years; If there’s a compounded degree of satisfaction ending the bout inside the distance

“Although I know how to punch really well and I know how to do that. Today I feel like it was my lucky day. I feel like some sort of luck was involved in this fight.”

Dylan Bowker

I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.

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