By:
DaveMMA
On:
1/25/2010 10:59 AM
Posted To: MMAJacked
On Season 8 of the UFC's The Ultimate Fighter, Ryan Bader captured the UFC Light Heavyweight contract and picked up a legion of fans along the way. Since then he has gone undefeated in the Octagon, but his biggest test awaits him at UFC 110 on February 20th when he goes toe to toe with Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine.
I had a chance to talk with Ryan last week regarding the fight, along with a few other topics too. The first thing I asked was if he felt that this fight against Jardine was one of the biggest fights of his career to date. "Oh yeah, absolutely" said Bader "He's been in Main Events, he's a highly respected fighter who's been in the Octagon with Wanderlei Silva, "Rampage" Jackson, Chuck Liddell and others. He's definately the biggest name I've fought so far. I think this is a fight that will legitimize me." The way Ryan looks at this fight in his words "Every fight is the biggest fight...but this is tenfold because I'm fighting a bigger name." He is approaching this fight, as he does with all of his fights, very seriously and he's right that this fight will shine a brighter spotlight on him in the UFC.
When we talked about his training for this fight Bader said "I've upped my cardio alot, I've been working on my stand up, Jiu Jitsu, so I'm gonna be ready for this fight." I also asked how you prepare for a fighter like Jardine with his unorthodox style and thunderous leg kicks? "Yeah it's hard" according to Bader "We're doing a lot of kickboxing. Working on the body shots, I'm having people kick my leg all the time. But it's important to have good training partners that have watched film on Jardine and try to emulate him, Because his style is so unorthodox it's hard to get a good grasp on it." Bader and his training partners have been working to try and spot Jardine's tendencies and to be ready for take downs after the big leg kicks. So Ryan has been training hard to be in the best shape of his career for this fight. Part of his training includes watching what is it that he eats. About 8 weeks out from his fight, sponsor Mid Western Meats send him weekly portions of fresh, vacuum sealed meats & veggies to help him maintain his diet and keep up his energy.
I asked Ryan what was on the horizon for him after the UFC 110 fight, He had a great answer, he knows this one against Jardine is a big one but just wants to keep improving and getting better with each fight. He said something that really impressed me. "I don't fight for an undefeated record, I fight for the here and now...to win that fight ahead of me." One day he is hoping to earn a title shot, whenever it is presented to him, and I have no doubt that that day will come. Ryan has a great head on his shoulders and works hard for each fight.
I posed the question to him asking if there was anyone at the 205 lbs. level he wanted to fight, for whatever reason. "Not really, I don't have any grudges. Maybe Krzystof Soszynski sometime because people wanted to see that fight on the Ultimate Fighter and we never got to do it." Yes, that is one match-up many UFC fans woud enjoy! But other than that he's just ready to take on whoever Joe Silva & the UFC match him up against.
On a lighter note I had to ask about the origin of his nickname Ryan "Darth" Bader, and did he even like it? "The name to me is kind of a whatever, I'm not a huge fan of it. It came from my college wrestling days and when I started at MMA gyms they used it too without knowing about it from college." So the name has just kind of stuck with Ryan, who acknowledges that there are worse names out there. Like he said "it could be worse, like Master Bader, so..." very true Ryan!!
Before we wrapped up our chat I asked about his Tap-Out shirt and how much he was involved. "Yeah, that was pretty much all my design" said Bader "I told them what quote I wanted on the shirt, how the look & feel of it should be. I went for a vintage washed out look which was new for them. People have seemed to like it, it was the number 2 seller on the website over the holidays." Kudos to Ryan, it's a great looking shirt...I think I'll have to get one.
So make sure that you mark your calendar...February 20th for UFC 110. There are some great fights on the card but the one I am anxious for is Ryan "Darth" Bader vs. Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine!! Don't you miss it!!
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