Bellator 214’s Ryan Bader talks quick win over Fedor Emelianenko & What’s Next
Winning the light heavyweight title at Bellator 180 over Phil Davis was a lackluster affair according to Bader, but the Bellator 214 win was a much sweeter one for him.
“…when I won the (light heavyweight) belt, it was like a split decision. It wasn’t exciting at all, it was kind of a lackluster…yeah I won the belt. It was fun, but…to cap this off , winning the heavyweight title, but winning a tournament. Let alone beat Fedor and knocking Fedor out in 30 seconds to win the heavyweight championship and become a two division champion, it doesn’t become any bigger than that. That’s the pinnacle right there, this one was definitely a lot sweeter,” says Bader to Fightful’s James Lynch during the Bellator 214 post-fight press conference.
Bader, now that he has captured heavyweight gold, has become the first fighter in Bellator MMA history to hold two titles in two different weight classes at the same time.
The winner of an upcoming fight between Vitaly Minakov and Cheick Kongo is next for Bader, but the double champion isn’t looking to far ahead at the moment.
“I haven’t watched too much of Minakov at all to be honest, I know they fought before and I don’t know how it went. I know the result, but I didn’t watch the fight. I’ve watched Kongo and he’s on a tear, we’ll see what happens with them and get with Bellator to see where they want me. See if it all meshes and kind of go from there, I’m going to enjoy this moment. I’ve had a fight in my mind for this whole tournament…all year, I knew who I was fighting. So its nice to take a couple of weeks and say ‘hey, I don’t have anybody on the schedule, I don’t know a date…nothing,’” says Bader.
Minakov and Kongo are scheduled to clash at Bellator 216, which is set for Saturday, February 16.
