Ryan Bader was wondering the same thing as many fans when it was announced that the Bellator heavyweight titleholder would face the winner of PFL’s recent season in a champion vs. champion showdown.
Are elbow strikes allowed?
To the delight of virtually all involved, Vader was free when he faced Renan Ferreira in the historic PFL vs. Bellator pay-per-view event on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET on the main card). And you can clearly throw a bow at them. , Saudi Arabia.
“That was my question as well, but then I got word that they were allowed,” Bader recently told The Post via video call about elbow strikes, which are traditionally not allowed in the seasonal PFL. told. “It’s a big thing for us, it’s a big thing for me, my fighting style and everything.”
The event marks the start of 2024 for PFL, its first full year since acquiring Bellator MMA from Paramount in November.
It’s not exactly a cross-promotion where everyone gets their checks from the same place, but this weekend’s cross-pollination of previously separate rosters is unique, creating a number of matchups that would have been nearly impossible 12 months ago. provide you with great opportunities.
And while neither Vader’s Bellator gold nor Ferreira’s championship status (which is more akin to a Super Bowl or Stanley Cup title than a permanently defended martial arts belt) is at stake in this three-round matchup. , Vader thinks that’s correct. At least a few observers might as well.
“You walk away from that fight, if you win, you’re like, ‘Hey, I’m pretty much the PFL champion and I’m the Bellator champion, right?'” said Bader, who is returning to action for the first time since retiring as a legendary heavyweight. Fedor Emelianenko in February last year.
Bader (31-7, 16 finishes) burst onto the UFC stage in 2008 as the light heavyweight winner of the eighth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and is 6-0 as a heavyweight, former Bellator 2 It ruled as a class. Two heaviest division champions.
Now, at 6-foot-2 and about 235 pounds, few people would look at the former All-American wrestler from Arizona and think he’s “small.”
Meanwhile, next to the huge Ferreira, 40-year-old Bader is also quite close to it.
Brazil’s Ferreira (12-3, 11 finishes) is 6-8, towers over the Bellator champion over 260 pounds, and is officially 3-0 with three (T)KOs within six minutes. We are coming to the end of 2023, which ended in 2023. He lost a decision to Rizvan Kniev in April, but that was overturned after he tested positive for a banned substance.
Vader is a threat with both submissions and heavy hands, so he knows he’s wary of more athletic opponents, but his wrestling prowess and license to throw elbows like Ferreira are the tie-breakers. I know that I have the potential to become
“He’s very athletic. He can stand up and do backflips and all that kind of stuff,” Bader said. “Sometimes big guys, especially guys like him, especially in the grappling and wrestling areas, can’t use that big body to do control and things like that. …Watching film study And his weakness is being grounded. His aerobic, ground game is probably the weakest in his game.
“He can’t stand up when he gets knocked down. And these are 14- and 15-year-olds[fight] That’s a record,” continued Bader, who has competed against some of the top talent in the UFC and Bellator over 205 pounds over the past 15 years. “He’s a great fighter, a champion in his own right, but if you look at his record, look at who I’ve fought and who he’s fought, you can’t compare him.”
The event is envisioned as a champion vs. champion extravaganza, pitting Bellator opponents against champions in six divisions (heavyweight, light heavyweight, welterweight, lightweight, men’s and women’s featherweights) for the 2023 PFL season. However, Vader’s headliner showdown is technically the only surviving fight that meets that definition.
The co-main event will pit Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen against Impa Kasanganay, winner of the PFL’s light heavyweight season, at Kasanganay’s more natural weight of 185 pounds.
Bellator champions Patricio Pitbull (featherweight) and Jason Jackson (welterweight) will remain, but 2023 season runner-up Gabriel Braga (whose father Diego passed away in his home country of Brazil last month) and 2019 season runner-up Gabriel Braga (whose father Diego passed away in his native Brazil last month) They will each face 2021 PFL Champion Ray Cooper III.
