Last night, the ultimate stunner in UFC history occurred. It was in the light heavyweight bout between Ryan “Darth” Bader and Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz. In a column I published yesterday, I predicted that Bader would win via TKO in Round 2.
Instead, the unthinkable happened. Ortiz came out with some good sparring and basically punched Bader into a guillotine choke. The former Pac-10 wrestling champion tapped out 1:56 into Round 1 and Ortiz’s job was saved.
To put it bluntly, I can’t believe this happened. As happy as I am for Tito Ortiz, I’m kind of hoping that he tests positive for an illegal substance just so that Bader can slowly work his way up to a title shot.
Still, I’ve got to hand it to the legend. He clearly came out ready to fight and Bader just looked cocky. While in the beginning one fighter’s future looked cloudy and another’s was bright, the roles have been reversed.
Either way, it’s a pretty safe bet that Ryan Bader absolutely needs to win his next fight. This was his second consecutive loss after winning his first 12 matches. Considering how he lost those two, he needs to work on his submission defense.
On top of that, Bader needs to start from scratch and have a tuneup fight. Maybe fight an up-and-comer or someone on the decline just so he can get his confidence back.
Otherwise, “Darth” will be slain and if I may use a bad metaphor, the Bader Empire will fall.