Ryan Bader is shooting straight for the Bellator title.
While “Darth” isn’t an official member of the Bellator roster, he has come to an agreement with the promotion. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has the right to match, but the promotion’s President Dana White has said Bader will be free to move on.
Bader himself has said his days with the UFC are likely over. Besides not receiving a title opportunity, “Darth” said the UFC’s Reebok deal also played a factor in his desire to sign with Bellator.
Flo Combat recently spoke with Bader. The light heavyweight said he’s gunning for a title match-up against Phil Davis, a man he’s beaten before inside the Octagon:
“That’s the fight I want. I’m not one of these guys who is coming over at the tail end of their career and trying to grab a couple of paychecks. On our side, we want to go in right away and I don’t think people will complain about leapfrogging anyone. I’m ranked No. 4 in the UFC. I’m 7-1 in my last eight fights. It’s one of those things where I could jump in and fight for the title right away and I don’t think too many people will complain.
“It wasn’t about saying this isn’t enough money and it’s time to move on. It’s about the opportunity and what’s best for me. In this sport you have to look at things selfishly. With Bellator it was about sitting down with Scott [Coker] and Rich [Chou] and figure out where Bellator is going and what the plan would be for me. They had a plan and that felt great. I like moving more into a flat fee too which is nice. I see the rationale by doing a show and win bonus because it makes guys want to go out and secure that win bonus, but I think it deters it a lot with different fights. With a flat fee you can go out there and let loose.”
