Bellator 273 Interview: Heavyweight Champ Ryan Bader Done with LHW, Wants Boxing Match

Bellator 273 is going down Sat, Jan 29 with the promotion’s HW Champ, Ryan Bader (28-7-1), defending his belt against Interim Champ, Valentin Moldavsky (11-1), in the night’s marquee matchup. The main card begins at 10/7PM ETPT on Showtime, Prelims streaming on the Bellator MMA YT channel, Showtime Sports YT channel, & PlutoTV at 7/4PM ETPT.

Ahead of this HW title unification bout, Bader sat down with Bloody Elbow to discuss why he’s done fighting in two divisions, why striking at 205-lbs is more dangerous than banging at HW, his rivalry with Team Fedor, recovery tactics, & an openness to compete in boxing later down the line.

Answer 1: “If you go watch my one, it looks we’re a little risqué, but it’s actually a great, great technique. Yeah but I need to bring those back. I need to bring those back for sure, but I mean how do you one-up that one, you know?”

Answer 2: “Oh a ton, & I’m for it, too. I think we tried it a few times. They love it, but at the end of the day when it really comes down to pull the trigger on it, saying that on national television would be something, they just don’t want to cross that line. I embrace it, and I want to at least once in my career come out and have them, you know, announce me as Ryan “Master” Bader. It’d be fun. It’d be fun for the crowd. I’m all for it.”

Answer 3: “Yeah, I’m excited to come back up to HW. It’s been a little while. I’ve been down at LHW, & the cuts are getting brutal. I’m going to be honest. I walk around at like 235 [lbs], & so for me to go through a training camp, not have to worry about cutting weight, I can feel my body properly. I feel good. Fight week, obviously I don’t have to worry about cutting 25-lbs of water, so it’s a lot more fun fighting at HW, for sure. The whole process is more enjoyable. I come in there with a better attitude I would say, & my body properly fueled & hydrated. So, I love fighting at HW. No doubt about it.”

Answer 4: “I was kind of dabbling in HW when I went into that Grand Prix. I fought LHW the 1st Rd, but then I fought Matt Mitrione who is a big HW. I wanted to be able to control him & be just as strong & everything, you know you have to put on weight.”

“The thing is, too, what people don’t realize, you have to get used to training at the weight that you’re going to fight at. I think a big mistake is people are like alright I’m going up to HW, put on 20-lbs of muscle, & they go out there & fight & they’re gassing out. Their body’s not used to having that extra weight, that extra muscle burning up oxygen. It was tough bouncing back + forth... I was Yo-Yo’ing on my weight & it got to be kind of a big hassle. So, it’s kind of nice to forget about that for now, put the 205-lb division [in the] rear-view mirror, focus on HW. It’s where I want to be; it’s where my body feels good. I haven’t fought at HW in a couple of years, so I’m excited for this one.”

Answer 5: “I’m all about opportunities. I came over to Bellator for the opportunities, so if something pops up & says hey there’s a huge fight here, or it makes sense, then perhaps. But as of right now, I’m kind of just focused on this division. Honestly, I feel better, I think i fight better at HW, so why? Why would I want to go down & deplete my body & do that again? Why wouldn’t I just stay at HW? I feel like the attributes I bring to the HW division, I do very well, & just thinking about sticking here. I’m 36, so I know as I’m aging I just do not recover like I did in my 20’s."

Answer 6: “First off it’s nutrition, right. I make my own juice, all that kind of stuff. I have my own ice bath I hit all the time. Supplement-wise I have Kill Cliff right here. I love their CBD drinks. I drink a couple of those a day. It’s all clean. They have an energy & a CBD one…

... check out the rest of the interview by clicking play! Like, share & subscribe. Follow Eddie @TheEddieMercado on twitter.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.com/subscribe