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Ryan Bader Is Excited For His Future in Bellator

April 3, 2017 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas

Ryan Bader spoke with MMAjunkie about signing with Bellator MMA. Some highlights are below:

On jumping from the UFC to Bellator: “Coming in, I was ranked No. 4 in the world with the UFC, been a top-10 guy for years. So for me, it wasn’t just about the terms and the money. It was little things: make sure I fight. Biggest thing, too, is sponsorships – make sure I’m open and free to kind of do other things if I want, big fights, maybe at heavyweight, different stuff like that. Then it comes down to the contract, too, and the money, and that was amazing. That was a non-issue. We just kind of worked through trivial stuff that needs to be worked out in a contract. I was excited about just the openness and the opportunities of it all. I want to go in there and I want to win the belt. So we talked about fighting (champ) Phil Davis first fight, stuff like that.”

On not getting title shots in the UFC: “I’ve been there and yes, I’ve lost key fights to get that (UFC) title shot, but I was never given the opportunity when I was set up where I could be put right in. I was supposed to fight (UFC champ) Cormier and it got pulled. He ended up fighting Anthony Johnson, and I was in a four-fight winning streak. It made sense that we go right in and he and I fight. He was calling for the fight. I was, obviously, and then get passed over for a guy that comes off a knockout loss, when(Alexander) Gustafsson lost to Anthony Johnson, Gustafsson gets the title shot. At that point, I was kind of like, ‘Man, if I’m not getting it now, I’m going to have to beat every single guy in this division,’ when other people have gotten it off of way less than that. So that was frustrating, a little bit.”

On his goal of winning a title: “I want to win a belt. In my MMA fighting career, I came up, I got in ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ real quick. I was on local show, but I was never on one local show. I jumped around, so I never got the opportunity to fight for a belt anywhere. So that’s one of my end game goals – is to have a belt. And going out there, and beating Phil Davis, whoever has it, winning the light heavyweight belt in Bellator would be a big deal.”

On the UFC’s title bookings: “To sort of see guys that are outside of the top-10 and whatnot jumping into title fights and getting passed over because one guy is more popular or has a different fighting style than the other, it’s definitely frustrating. I get it that it’s an entertainment sport, at the end of the day, but it’s also a sport. And I’m a competitor, so I want to go out there and win, and I think whoever’s winning and deserves that shot, deserves that shot because they’re winning.”

On other possible migrations from the UFC: “I think there’s going to be a trend, definitely. And then when people start talking, I’ve obviously done my due diligence. My manager has been great. He has a bunch of guys here in Bellator, so I know the landscape. And then talking to other fighters, UFC guys that have come over, ‘How do you like it? Give me a little insight.’ That’s been good.”

On his decision to sign with Bellator: “I’m excited about it. It’s new. It’s refreshing. I like where they’re going. Right when I signed, the day of, they announced the pay-per-view in Madison Square Garden, so it just reassured me that what I chose to do was the right thing and Bellator is going to keep doing these bigger and bigger things.”