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What's the story?
Bellator light heavyweight champion and recently decorated two-division champion from Bellator, Ryan Bader, has recently spoken about the fancied chances for a champ-champ versus champ-champ matchup against former twin-division UFC champion, Daniel Cormier.
Bader's last competition within the Octagon came at Bellator 214 against Russian MMA legend, Fedor Emelianenko, who he beat via knockout in just under a minute of the very first round, to become the promotion's first double-champion.
The heart of the matter
Ryan Bader is an American mixed martial artist, currently signed under a contract with Bellator MMA. Previous to his run with Bellator, Bader was considered to be a formidable contender in the UFC's light heavyweight division.
Bader has amassed victories over respected opponents of the sport such as Rashad Evans, Phil Davis, Matt Mitrione, and his most recent opponent in Fedor Emelianenko, during the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix Final at The Forum, in Inglewood, California.
Daniel Cormier is the current heavyweight and the former double-division champion of the UFC. He is presently on a three-fight win streak with the promotion, having victories over and against the likes of Volkan Oezdemir, Stipe Miocic, and Derrick Lewis.
In December of 2018, Cormier was required to relinquish his UFC light heavyweight title, which was later claimed by UFC light heavyweight kingpin, Jon Jones, during his UFC 232 main event clash against 'The Mauler', Alexander Gustafsson.
The heart of the matter
In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Bellator double-champion, Ryan Bader, was seen contemplating the possibility of a cross-promotion championship bout against UFC heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier.
Bader, coming fresh off of his ballistic 35-second knockout win over heavyweight legend, Fedor Emelianenko, had the following to say about a possible fight against UFC rival, Daniel Cormier:
“I’m over that. But he’s one of those guys, he proves himself over and over again. He’s a champ, in and out of the cage there, beating monsters. Nothing but respect from over here.”
“It’d be fun to do a cross-promotion for the champ-champ champ-champ, but we’ll see if that ever happens.”
Following his win over Derrick Lewis at UFC 230, Cormier has expressed his willingness to retire from the sport of mixed martial arts, plausibly on or before his 40th birthday. The two have had their fair share of bad blood during Bader's previous association with the UFC, leading many to believe that a fight between the pair could, very well, serve to come to fruition.
What's next?
With Daniel Cormier's final days in MMA closing in, the president of the UFC, Dana White, is expecting a maximum of three fights from the champion. Jon Jones' recent win over Alexander Gustafsson has reignited the bitter rivalry between Cormier and Jones, opening wide the probability of a trilogy fight between them.
In the modern day and age of cross-promotional bouts, do you think a mega-fight between Ryan Bader and Daniel Cormier is out of the realms of possibility? Or is it just a matter of time until we see the two lock horns inside the Octagon?
Be sure to leave us with your thoughts, opinions, and predictions in the comments section below!
