Ryan Bader vs. Eric Schafer: October 24

According to a recent twitter post by Ryan Bader, he will be facing Eric John “Red” Schafer at UFC 104 Los Angeles (Machida vs. Rua) on October 24. Schafer’s camp, Roufusport, was not immediately available for comment.

Schafer (11-3-2) is a former XFO light heavyweight champion and holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Pedro Sauer. In Schafer’s UFC debut he defeated Rob MacDonald by arm triangle choke in the first round. Schafer then suffered back-to-back losses against Stephan Bonnar and Michael Bisping. After two GFS wins, Schafer was welcomed back to the UFC. He went on to submit Houston Alexander and knock out Antonio Mendes, both in the 1st round.

Ryan “Darth” Bader (9-0) is also coming off of back-to-back UFC wins, including a unanimous decision victory over Carmelo Marrero at UFC Fight Night 18 and a 1st round knockout of BJJ black belt Vinicius “Vinny” Magalhães. The All-American wrestler trains at Arizona Combat Sports with head coach Trevor Lally, who does appear to have the Midas touch. Although Bader is an immensely talented fighter with world-class wrestling and knockout power, this will be a challenging fight for sure.

(Pictured above: Ryan Bader and CB Dollaway sparring at Arizona Combat Sports)