Issue 133
October 2015
Ryan Bader has been denied his shot at the 205lb title twice, but he’s convinced he’s still the man to shut down Daniel Cormier – and shut him up – before taking UFC gold
Ryan Bader
UFC Light heavyweight
Ryan Bader is a new man. The old ‘Darth’ carried himself with a quiet intensity. He didn’t court controversy and he didn’t feud with his opponents. He simply kept his head down and collected wins with commanding All-American wrestling and frightening KO power to become a
top-10 light heavyweight.
But a growing rivalry seems to have changed the TUF 8 winner. He’s found a nemesis whose barbed comments mean he’s been unable to keep his emotions in check any longer.
When the 32-year-old was scheduled to fight Daniel Cormier in June, he found the first real arch-enemy of his career. The pair first butted heads on their media tour for that headliner for UFC Fight Night 68, but when it was announced Cormier would fight Anthony Johnson for Jon Jones’ vacated title at UFC 187 instead, the heat between them was turned up even higher.
It was an opportunity Bader felt he deserved. He was on a four-fight win streak and Cormier was coming off a loss to the former champion, Jones. And to add insult to injury, ‘DC’ was less than complimentary about the former Arizona State University wrestling standout.
“The whole thing with Cormier, I’ve been thinking about that guy for a long time,” Bader tells FO. “Y’know, he’s a talker. That’s what he does. He’s talking smack about me and then on fight week he came out and did an interview in which he said I didn’t deserve to fight Anthony Johnson and that’s why he got it, and I haven’t beaten anybody in the 205lb division and all this kind of crap. So that’s when I tweeted at him.
“I was like, ‘What are you talking about? Who the hell have you beat in the 205lb division? Patrick Cummins and Dan Henderson? I have way better wins, so why do you deserve it?’ That’s how that whole thing started.
“I’ve never had any animosity towards anybody or anything like that. I’ve never been a smack talker, nothing. It was just boom, boom, boom at our media tour; he’s throwing little jabs and doing this, and then on social media, then he comes out with that article that I thought was really disrespectful.”
Their beef simmered as Bader sat on the sidelines at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in May as DC stepped into the Octagon and forced ‘Rumble’ to tap to claim the 205lb championship. But it reached boiling point just minutes after the belt was wrapped around the former Olympian’s waist at the post-fight presser.
“I don’t know whether (Cormier) saw me, but he just goes into how I was being disrespectful before his fight. He’s up there screaming on a mic – I’m down there on the floor with no mic – so everyone can hear what he’s saying. He’s calling me the easiest fight in the division and all this kind of crap, so I just snapped.
“I walked up there. One: so I could be heard a little bit. And two: I wanted to smack him. But I didn’t want to be disrespectful to the sport, so I ended up leaving. I’ve never done that in my career or felt that way about someone. I haven’t wanted to take somebody out like that.”
The confrontation was seen by millions of people online and had the MMA community buzzing. There was a real rivalry brewing between the champion and the fighter ranked third in the world – the only man in that top three who had an active winning streak. It was surely a no-brainer that the Reno, Nevada native would have his day in court to fight for the gold.
But the UFC thought different and instead called on Alexander Gustafsson. Bader admits he was “blindsided” by the decision.
“Cormier went out there and got the job done and won, and then we had a little deal at the press conference, and that brought up the bad blood between us,” he says. “From then, alright, there’s one way to settle this. We can fight, and the cherry on top – it’s for the belt.
“I really thought that was going to happen. We were scheduled to fight already, I was good enough to fight him before, so why not again? Then we got some news that Gustafsson was getting the fight – another fighter coming off a loss. Not only a loss, a loss to the guy who just lost via submission in the championship to Cormier. That whole thing was just weird, so I was in a weird place a little bit.”
Lost in limbo, without an opponent, he confesses feeling a little jaded. Passed over for a title shot, Bader retreated back onto the mats of Power MMA in Gilbert, Arizona, to prepare for his next opportunity.
That also contributed to the development of the new Ryan Bader, version 2.0. It’s not just the new-found fire in his belly: he’s also grown as a fighter. He’s rounding out his game and ironing out his weaknesses to become a more complete mixed martial artist.
“I’ve been adding a lot of different weapons. I started to really open up with kicks and knees and elbows, and obviously punches too,” he says. “Then I’ve been working a ton on my mobility. That’s one thing I felt always held me back a little, so I’ve been working hard on improving my mobility in my hips and my legs.
“I’ve seen a difference – just being more agile in the way I move better and more smoothly. I feel that’s really going to kick my game up quite a bit.”
And he’ll need to be at his best to stay on track for a title challenge when he welcomes Rashad Evans back to the Octagon after his two-year absence. Bader says fighting the UFC “legend” is “the next best thing to fighting for the championship,” and expects that a win is guaranteed to earn him the fight he’s campaigning for.
But what if Gustafsson beats Cormier? Would Bader put his title aspirations on hold for a chance to put his hands on the source of his anger and frustration?
“My number-one goal is to be the best in the sport and division. It’s not Cormier,” he says. “I can fight Cormier later on down the road. Best of both worlds would be if Cormier wins and it’s for the title, but you know how this sport goes.
“Once you have the opportunity to fight for the title, you take it, whether it’s on a week’s notice or you wait for however long. They don’t come around very often. In a perfect world, I’ll put on a dominating performance, beat Rashad, go into that fight with Cormier and go from there.
“I just feel it’s my time now. I’m hungry, I have those four wins in a row, I’m right there. I want that title shot. I want to win the belt.”
All-Brazilian
Wrestler wins jiu-jitsu gold
A former champion All-American grappler with three Pac-10 championships to his name, Bader has now added a Brazilian jiu-jitsu gold medal to his collection. With his June fight with Daniel Cormier canceled, he grabbed his gi and entered the Arizona BJJ State Championship in the purple belt super heavyweight division.
Though not quite as prestigious as his college wrestling accomplishments, it was an opportunity to rekindle his competitive flame away from the pressure of the Octagon. But as a UFC fighter, there was a target on his back.
“I put myself out there, I was nervous,” he admits. “There were some tough guys in my division. It was good because you’re a UFC guy in there and all those guys are gunning for you. But I went out there, had fun and ended up winning it.
“I got that same feeling as a fight. I’m nervous before any wrestling match, any fight. That’s how my body responds.
“I was the same for this jiu-jitsu tournament. I haven’t fought since January, so I really wanted to get in there and compete somehow. This came up and I was training already a ton in the gi, so I thought, ‘Heck, why not? Let’s go out there and compete and get those feelings going through my body so it’s not foreign the next time I step into the Octagon.’ I’ve been staying active and I won’t have those extra jitters at all.
“I wanted to feel those feelings again – competing and facing another guy outside the gym, outside your comfort zone. I felt those nerves, which was crazy. I was thinking to myself, ‘Why am I getting so nervous here at a jiu-jitsu competition?’ But it was good for me.
“Now next time I step into the Octagon I’m ready to go claim what’s mine.”
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