From an interview with Cage Potatoe, TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader talks where he feels he stands in the UFC Light Heavyweight division right now:
Coming off the show I think I’m at the bottom of the totem pole right now. I think I have to win three or four fight before I start fighting the middle or top tier guys. That’s going to be a while. I need time to grow as a fighter. I’m not looking to go right out there and fight Rampage or anything. I need to get my ring time in, win my fights, and get better. Beating Carmello, I don’t think it really puts me anywhere. It just shows that I belong here. Carmello’s a tough dude. I watched him fight live before. He fought my training partner (Steve Steinbeiss) in his last fight and he was tough.