Ryan Bader News

Chris Taylor - May 13, 2018

Ryan Bader (25-5 MMA) advanced to the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament semifinals last night by picking up a quick fifteen-second knockout victory over Muhammed Lawal (21-7 MMA). The current Bellator light heavyweight champion, Ryan Bader, was able to drop “King Mo” with a left hand before eventually finishing Lawal off with ground and pound.

Drake Riggs - March 26, 2018

One of the more underrated light heavyweight competitors of the last decade has been the winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 8 and current Bellator 205-pound champion, Ryan ‘Darth’ Bader. Bader has fought practically his entire MMA career in the UFC but has recently ventured over to Bellator where he’s had nothing but success. That’s not to say he didn’t find success in the UFC either though as he amassed a record of 15-5 with the organization before they decided to let him walk as a free agent. Including Bellator and UFC, better has won nine of his last ten fights.

Tom Taylor - November 2, 2017

Tomorrow night, in the main event of the exciting Bellator 186 card, Bellator light heavyweight champ Ryan Bader will attempt to defend his title opposite the dangerous Linton Vassell. While this test is at the forefront of the champ’s mind, he’s also interested in partaking in a much-discussed Bellator heavyweight title tournament. “I would definitely like to throw my hat in the ring with that and see where it goes,” Bader told MMAjunkie. “That’s one thing that intrigued me about coming to Bellator was those different opportunities.”

Chris Taylor - June 24, 2017

Bellator NYC Results: Ryan Bader vs. Phil Davis A light heavyweight title fight served as the featured bout of tonight’s “Bellator NYC” prelims in New York as current 205-pound champion Phil Davis took on top contender Ryan Bader.

Russell Ess - April 28, 2017

Ryan Bader is one of the noteworthy fighters that jumped ship from the UFC to Bellator MMA recently. With going through the negotiation process between the two major mixed martial arts promotions, Bader ultimately felt like he would be better off changing things up and signing with Bellator. A big factor in Bader’s decision to sign with Bellator surely had to do with the amount of money he could make with his personal sponsorships. With the UFC tied into an exclusive uniform deal with Reebok, many UFC fighters such as Bader lost out on a lot of money from their personal endorsements.

Tom Taylor - March 21, 2017

Earlier this week, we learned that long-time UFC light heavyweight contender and TUF season eight winner Ryan Bader had signed with Bellator MMA. The dangerous light heavyweight talent has wasted no time in attempting to book his first fight with the organization, calling out the light heavyweight champ Phil Davis for a fight at Bellator 180 this June 24 in New York City. Luckily for him, Davis seems all for it.

Russell Ess - March 20, 2017

Another top fighter has left the UFC and has signed with Bellator MMA. UFC light heavyweight veteran Ryan Bader who was recently ranked #5 on the official UFC rankings announced on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour that he has signed with Bellator MMA.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2016

UFC light heavyweight Ryan Bader wrapped up his latest UFC contract in the best way possible, scoring impressive stoppages over Ilir Latifi and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. With these wins, which reaffirmed his status as one of the world’s top light heavyweights, Bader made himself a valuable commodity not only in the eyes of the UFC, but also in the eyes of other top promotions like Bellator and Rizin Fighting Federation. On the most recent episode of Submission Radio, Bader gave an update on his current situation. The light heavyweight explained that he’s still in the earliest stages of his free agency.

Tom Taylor - November 6, 2016

On November 19, the UFC will promote its 100th Fight Night card. This card will emanate from the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in beautiful Sao Paolo, Brazil. Initially, the card was expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between Swedish contender Alexander Gustafsson and Brazilian veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. When Gustafsson withdrew from the bout with a lingering back injury, however, Nogueira was reassigned to a bout with long-time contender Ryan Bader.

bjpenndotcom - September 3, 2016

Here's that knee landed by @ryanbader!! Wow!! #UFCHamburg @aaronsimpson pic.twitter.com/nyGhqvTZiW — #Dizz © (@TalkMMA) September 3, 2016

bjpenndotcom - September 3, 2016

On the night going into Ryan Bader’s headlining main event against Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, Bader was riding an impressive five fight win streak, the kind of win streaks that usually lead to title fights. And with victories over Rashad Evans, Ovince Saint Preux and Phil Davis during that five fight span of dominance, a chance at light heavyweight gold seemed imminent. ‘Rumble’ flipped the script with a quick knockout after making Bader pay for a half-hearted takedown attempt. 1:26 minutes into the first round was all it took for his five fight win streak to officially bottom out, leaving Bader right where he started.

Russell Ess - February 1, 2016

It was a tough pill to swallow for Ryan Bader. After campaigning hard for a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title on a five-fight win streak, Bader was put to the test before getting a title fight and met the hard-hitting Anthony Johnson in the main event of UFC on FOX 18 on Saturday night. After a failed shot in for a takedown by Bader, Johnson was able to control Bader on the ground and secured the mount position and poured on heavy shots causing referee Keith Peterson to stop the bout at 1:26 of the opening round.