Ryan Bader on board if ex-UFC standout Corey Anderson gets title shot in Bellator debut

Ryan Bader is no hypocrite. He got a title shot in his Bellator debut, so it would be hard for him to say recent signee Corey Anderson shouldn’t get one, too.

Bader (27-5 MMA, 5-0 BMMA), who currently holds the Bellator heavyweight and light heavyweight titles, is set to defend his 205-pound belt against Vadim Nemkov (11-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) in the Bellator 244 main event, which takes place Aug. 21 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. After that, there’s no clear contender in the division.

Although he can pinpoint a few potential options, no one out there has the current relevance of Anderson (13-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who recently signed with Bellator after a 14-fight UFC stint and is the No. 6-ranked fighter in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA light heavyweight rankings. No. 3 Bader was thrilled to see “Overtime” join the Bellator team and bring some much-needed depth to the division.

“I was happy for Corey. I’ve trained with him before, and it’s a great pickup for Bellator,” Bader told MMA Junkie. “The 205-pound division needs some talent, and he’s a top five guy in the world. That’s a huge pickup, and there’s a couple guys that I was looking at in 205 – one being (Lyoto) Machida after this fight. Then Corey Anderson is right there, too. I assume he’ll fight and then potentially be next in line for a title. I’m looking forward to that.”

Bellator has yet to announce its plans for Anderson’s debut. Bader said he assumes Anderson will get at least one fight before they are matched up, but also wouldn’t be opposed to putting that contest together right away.

When Bader joined the Bellator roster in June 2017, his debut came against then-champ Phil Davis. They had a history since Bader beat Davis when they were both under the UFC banner. However, he got next to no complaints about being positioned in that spot, and he managed to take the strap.

Bader doesn’t have that past experience in the cage with Anderson, but he still sees him as a worthy candidate. If the Bellator brass opts to give Anderson a title shot right away, Bader said he would offer no complaints.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Bader said. “I stepped in and had a title fight first fight because my opponent got hurt, so I got to step right in for the title. He’s deserving, so I wouldn’t mind that at all.”