Ryan Bader has never been closer to signing with Bellator than he is now.
Bader has competed under the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) banner 20 times. That’s not including his fights inside The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) house. “Darth” won season eight of TUF with a TKO win over Vinny Magalhaes.7
The last fight on Bader’s UFC’s contract was against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira back in Nov. 2016. He took a risk by not renewing the contract before the fight. It paid off as he dominated his opponent in a TKO victory.
Since then, Bellator has shown interest in Bader. By now it’s common knowledge that whenever someone becomes a free agent after a UFC stint, the promotion has the right to match. UFC President Dana White said Bader would be free to sign with Bellator.
Bader said White’s words tell him he’s likely had his last fight in the UFC. If he does sign with Bellator, one thing Bader won’t miss is the Reebok deal. He told Flo Combat he made more money on his worse day with his prior sponsors:
“One thing too which is huge for me is being able to have our own sponsorships. In the UFC before the sponsorship with Reebok, the least I’ve ever made was $35,000 grand–and I made up to $80,000 a fight–that’s a huge amount per fight to be cut. I mean, yes, we do get paid on tenure and I was one of the highest tenure guys, and we all know how that works with Reebok, but it’s a huge thing to be able to represent your sponsors again. I have sponsors that have stuck with me through that whole process of not being allowed in the cage and all that, so it’s a great opportunity to get them back out there and kind of repay them when they stuck by and they’ve always been a part of your team.”
