7. Ryan Bader Is An Excellent Gatekeeper... And He Might Get A Shot Yet
Remember when Ryan "Darth" Bader was expected to get a title shot? He was a rising prospect with tons of potential upside. Then he met fellow prospect Jon Jones, and it all went downhill. Jones beat Bader, got the title shot that was to have been Rashad Evans', and went on the be the most dominant champion of all time. Bader sunk into the background. He lost to Tito Ortiz. He beat a disinterested Rampage Jackson. He lost to Lyoto Machida, beat the Janitor, lost to Glover Teixeira. In essence, Bader wins over all but the very best, the absolute definition of gatekeeper. However, his last two wins have also been dominant. Anthony Perosh recieved the beating of a lifetime in their contest, in a fight that easily could have been a stoppage TKO. Last night, Rafael Cavalcante, a former Strikeforce champ, was decimated as well - not quite as badly, but worse than one would expect, given he's an ex-champ. Maybe Bader still has title shot potential. There's a story there, with him having lost to Jones in a key matchup in their past. If he can continue developing, well... Jones needs bodies, after all, and he's really only got three potentials at the moment: Alexander Gustafsson, Daniel Cormier, and possibly Anthony Johnson. After that, it's anyone's guess. Should Bader get another solid win or two, we might just be seeing him in a different light.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
