Bellator Light heavyweight champion and former UFC veteran Ryan Bader takes on Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal as a part of Bellator’s heavyweight grand Prix.
The winner would face former UFC veteran Matt Mitrione. Bader would have to beat both of these hurdles standing in Hus way to reach to the finals however he has his eye set on the other bracket as well. At Bellator 198 few days ago, MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko finished former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir to advance in the Grand Prix and will face the certified bad guy Chael Sonnen next. Sonnen and Emelianenko had an awkward face-off after the fight.
“Yeah, it was pretty funny. Fedor just kinda shut him down,” Bader told Submission Radio about the face off. “Chael did one of his corny poems or whatever he does there and Fedor really wasn’t having it. So, Chael’s gonna do that and I think it’s good if he can get people watching. And that’s an intriguing match-up.”
Bader broke down how the fight would go between a former middleweight and one if the greatest heavyweights of all time. Bader thinks people are underestimating Sonnen.
“Chael can definitely go out there and beat him. It’s one of those fights that’s a toss-up,” he said. “Fedor can go out there and look good and knock him out, or Chael can take him down and dominate him in that wrestling department.
“I think it’s a toss-up, ‘cause people always underestimate Chael. He’ll talk a lot and do all that, but he does have the tools to win,” Bader explained. “Look back to his fights with guys like Shogun, where he does have a good guillotine also and he can take people down. He has decent striking where he can keep you at distance like he did with Rampage, and then pick his shots where he can take you down.
“He doesn’t necessarily have to take you down and pass and try to submit you, he’s gonna take you down, he’s gonna just be on top of you, he’s got that good control. He doesn’t have to do much damage,” he said. “You know, it’s a three-round fight also. You gotta take that into account. So, he can take him down and hold him down for three rounds and win the fight and move onto the finals.”
Bader however is rooting for Emelianenko to advance.
“For me, selfishly I would want to fight Fedor in the finals, and so to see him go out there and win (against Mir), I like seeing that,” he said. “For me, the perfect ending to the grand prix would be going out there, beating Fedor, not only for the heavyweight belt, but doing it in a grand prix style tournament. So, I was glad to see him win and I gotta do my part.”
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