Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader wants Bellator to sign former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos and perennial heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem.
Both Alistair Overeem and Junior Dos Santos were released by the UFC after they lost their last fight.
Junior Dos Santos was on a four-fight losing streak. His most recent loss came against Ciryl Gane at UFC 256 last December. In that fight, he was knocked out in the second round. Prior to that, he lost via TKO to Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 252. Before that, he was locked out by Curtis Blaydes and Francis Ngannou at UFC Fight Night 166 and UFC on ESPN 3 respectively.
Alistair Overeem lost his last fight via TKO against Alexander Volkov, he was 4-2 in his last six fights.
Prior to losing to Volkov, he was on a two-fight winning streak having beaten the likes of Augusto Sakai at UFC Fight Night 176 via TKO and before that he knocked out Walt Harris via TKO in round 2 at UFC on ESPN 8.
Ryan Bader wants Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem in Bellator
Ryan Bader also said that even if he wants Bellator to sign JDS and Overeem, he isn’t sure the promotion is going to do it. Unlike in the past when the company used to sign veterans from the UFC, the Viacom owned Bellator is bringing up its own fighters.
“Look at what Bellator has done with (building) light heavyweight,” Ryan Bader told MMA Junkie on Monday. “It all depends, because Bellator’s model, they’re kind of changing a little bit. They’re bringing up their own guys, younger guys and all that. Yeah, I would like those guys to come over. I don’t know if they’e going to get those older guys now. We’ll see.”
“I don’t know if Overeem is retired now,” Ryan Bader said. “But Dos Santos definitely seems like he wants to keep fighting and all that, so he’d be a good addition.”
Ryan Bader will participate in the light heavyweight Grand Prix in order to regain his lost title. Bader lost his Bellator light heavyweight title to Vadim Nemkov after he was knocked out by the Russian last year.
Ryan Bader will fight Lyoto Machida at Bellator 256 on April 26.
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