Ryan Bader may no longer be in the UFC but he doesn’t plan on letting that prevent him from climbing atop the MMA pound-for-pound rankings. Currently placed at number 15, Ryan Bader is eyeing the top of the list and believes that winning the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix in addition to being light heavyweight champion would be a powerful argument in his favor:
“Yeah (I should have a high pound-for-pound ranking), going out here and being a two-division champion and beating the guys I’ve beaten – I’m not fighting scrubs out here,” Bader told MMAjunkie at the Bellator 207 open workouts. “Doing this, being a two-division champion at a higher weight where one mistake could end your whole night. It’s definitely an accomplishment and I would have to be talked about in the pound-for-pound list.”
But first things first, Bader must first get past Matt Mitrione at Bellator 207, a fight which Bader believes favors him.
“If you look at stylistically, what are my strengths? My strengths are his weaknesses,” Bader said. “That wrestling department, the ground game and the cardio. That’s what I do well. I break people. I’ve never lost a decision. I’m willing to go there, I’ve been there a million times to that deep dark place where you start to question yourself. Even mores right now. I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life. I do feel that’s a spot I can exploit.”
Do you agree that winning the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix would put Ryan Bader in the conversation of the best pound for pound fighter in MMA?
