An Interview With Ryan Bader: Climbing The Ladder One Rung At A Time

UFC light heavyweight Ryan Bader is one of the organizations brightest young prospects.

Combining raw power with phenomenal wrestling, Bader is working diligently to make his game complete.

Training at Arizona Combat Sports, Bader works alongside UFC middleweights C.B. Dolloway and Aaron Simpson, WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner, and the newest member of the UFC, Gerald Harris.

Bader is currently 10-0 overall and 3-0 inside the octagon. While no official announcement has been made, it looks as though Bader will be fighting Keith Jardine at UFC 110 in February.

I recently had a second opportunity to speak with Bader. He is one of the nicest guys I have ever spoken to, as you will see from our conversation.

Bryan Levick: How are you feeling physically after your UFC 104 bout with Eric Schafer?

Ryan Bader: I feel good, I came out of that fight injury free, which is always a good thing. If you remember my last fight with Carmelo Marrerro, I had torn my knee up, so it’s always a plus when you can come out unscathed. I can keep myself in good physical condition and keep on training. I’m back in the gym right now, looking forward to my next bout.

Bryan Levick: Speaking of your next opponent, rumors have been circulating about a possible matchup between you and Keith Jardine at UFC 110. Can you comment on that?

Ryan Bader: Unfortunately, I can’t say anything at this time. All I can say is that I will be fighting in a couple of months.

Bryan Levick: How would you rate your performance against Schafer?

Ryan Bader: He’s a tough dude, he’s been in there with some top names, it was definitely a step up in competition for me. I felt good but being my harshest critic, I saw areas that I need to improve on. It’s definitely something to build on. I was happy but I still have so much stuff to work on, I need to work on throwing some straighter punches, and I need to stay more composed when I have my opponent hurt. Overall I was happy with the win, it moved me up another level and into some bigger fights.

Bryan Levick: One of your teammates, Aaron Simpson, has been making some noise recently. Do you know why it took him so long to get his career going at such a late stage?

Ryan Bader: Although he is 35 years old, he never took a break from training. He wrestled in college and then had some Olympic aspirations. He also tried to get on a couple of World teams. He had been wrestling competitively until a couple of years ago. He had been coaching all along, and was always helping me, and some of the other guys out. He never really stopped, his body is still young. After watching some of us have some success, he gave it a shot.

He had some difficulties with the head coach at Arizona State University, they had been butting heads for some time. He left that program, and began training MMA with me, CB Dolloway and Cain Velasquez. He saw that he could hang, he could do well. He had his first couple of fights, and here he is now.

Bryan Levick: Speaking of Velasquez, is there any reason why he doesn’t train with you and the other guys from ASU?

Ryan Bader: He got an earlier start than the rest of us and even when we did start training, there weren’t any guys his size to train with at Arizona Combat Sports. The head coach at ASU, Thom Ortiz, was friends with DeWayne Zinkin over at American Kickboxing Academy. Cain started training there, and has been there ever since. I believe his parents live in the San Jose area as well.

Bryan Levick: How has your life changed since winning The Ultimate Fighter ? What is it like dealing with the added exposure, being asked to do more interviews, and appearances for your sponsors?

Ryan Bader: It is what it is, you just have balance your time. i remember seeing an interview with Rashad Evans after his fight with Lyoto Machida. Evans had said had been doing all of these interviews, and wasn’t fully focused on his training. You really have to put your training ahead of everything else, and do all of the other stuff when you can.

It’s manageable, as far as the exposure, being in bigger fights or being on the main card, it doesn’t matter to me, I go in there, I see my opponent in the Octagon and that’s pretty much it. At this point, every fight is a big fight. I am just looking to stay undefeated, look good and keep my title aspirations in check. I really don’t feel any added pressure, because I put so much pressure on myself to begin with.

Bryan Levick: How many more fights do you feel it will take you to get a title shot?

Ryan Bader: That’s a tricky question, obviously I would love a title shot, but I don’t want to take one too early. I want to be the best fighter I can be when that opportunity presents itself. I wouldn’t mind getting in a few more fights before then.

Don’t get me wrong, if I was offered a shot, I would take it, but I think I need more experience. I need to put more hours in the gym. I won’t be heartbroken if I win my next, two, three, or four fights, and I don’t get a title shot. It will just give me more experience, and make me a better fighter.

Bryan Levick: What is your normal everday-weight and how do you go about cutting weight?

Ryan Bader: I walk around at about 225lbs. It’s pretty easy for me, I start watching my intake of food about a week out. I weigh in around 220lbs throughout my whole training camp. A few days before I suck the water out.

I wrestled in college at 197lbs and I was about the same size that I am now. I had to make weight every single weekend, so making weight every three or four months is not too bad. I have a good routine, I have it down pat. I could tell you how much weight I’ve lost by the amount of water that is in my suit, while I am on the treadmill.

Bryan Levick: Has there been any talk of doing a show in Arizona?

Ryan Bader: I have heard that the UFC would be coming to Arizona. Dana said absolutely, from what I hear it would a Fight Night or something like that. It would be awesome, Arizona is clearly on the map now as far as MMA is concerned. With all the guys from Arizona fighting in the UFC we could almost fill a whole card out.

Bryan Levick: If you could hand pick an opponent from the past or present to have a match with, who would it be?

Ryan Bader: Maybe a Royce Gracie. I could show just how far MMA has come since the early days of the UFC. It would fun to fight a legend like that. There’s no one I have any ill will towards, not that I have any bad feeling towards him, but with him being as big as he is, it would be fun.

Bryan Levick: This is a question I have been asking everyone because it is relevant to any mixed martial artist who trains with friends, and teammates who also fight in the UFC. How would you feel if you were asked to fight one of your training partners?

Ryan Bader: I don’t know about that, luckily I don’t have any teammates who fight in the 205lb-weight class. I don’t think I would fight one of the guys at ACS, and I don’t think they’d want to fight me either. We’ve been such good friends for such a long time, hopefully there would be other options.

With that being said, I have fought friends before. I fought Kyle Kingsbury to get on to The Ultimate Fighter, and he was a friend of mine. It’s not an easy decision, I don’t know if we would do it, unless it was for a ton of money.

Bryan Levick : How would you feel about becoming a coach on The Ultimate Fighter?

Ryan Bader : I would love to do that. I have been coaching wrestling since I was around 14 years old. I was coaching little kids, my dad ran a freestyle program in my hometown. I would love to do the show. Hopefully one day that opportunity will present itself.

Bryan Levick: How many fights are left on your current contract?

Ryan Bader: I believe I have seven fights remaining. The initial contract coming off the show called for nine fights.

Bryan Levick: Thank you for your time, it was great to talk to you again. Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

Ryan Bader: I’d like everyone to check out my signature t-shirt at TapouT.com, you can also get the latest news at my official website, www.ryanbader.com.

Just to be clear, Bader was not able to confirm who he would be fighting next or when it would be taking place.