Tag: Ryan Bader

UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber: What Ryan Bader Must Do To Defeat Tito Ortiz

Ryan “Darth” Bader made a tidal-wave size impact on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Winning the light heavyweight crown by defeating Vinny Magalhaes on TUF, the sky was the limit for Bader.Riding a tremendous wave of momentum, “Darth” r…

Ryan “Darth” Bader made a tidal-wave size impact on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Winning the light heavyweight crown by defeating Vinny Magalhaes on TUF, the sky was the limit for Bader.

Riding a tremendous wave of momentum, “Darth” rattled off four straight victories inside the famed Octagon including impressive wins over UFC veterans Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Keith Jardine.

Ultimately, suffering his first defeat as a professional at UFC 126 by the current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Bader was quickly brought down to Earth and forced to re-establish himself within the UFC light heavyweight division.

The first step in climbing back up the title contention ladder will take place this Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada as Bader takes on “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz.

Ortiz, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, has not had his hand raised in victory since defeating a fledgling Ken Shamrock back in 2006.

Overcoming personal issues and various injuries, Ortiz will be entering the Octagon for the first time since being defeated by Matt Hamill at UFC 121 in October of 2010.

A former three-time Pac-10 amateur wrestling champion, Bader was teammates with current UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, as well as CB Dollaway and Aaron Simpson.

Ryan Bader’s grappling pedigree is second to none. He is a tremendous wrestler with excellent take-down defense and is successful on 42 percent of his take-down attempts.

Possessing tremendous power and strength, this 6’2″ 205-pound mixed martial artist has excellent physical tools necessary to dominate within the grappling department.

Additionally, Bader’s stand-up skills are ever-improving. Landing 36 percent of his total strikes thrown, “Darth” is evolving into an all-around striker from his feet.

Defensively, he is much more solid, avoiding 76 percent of the total strikes attempted on him.

Tito Ortiz is not a flashy fighter. He will stand and trade in the pocket and look for take-down attempts throughout the entire fight. Ortiz is a skilled counter-striker and will capitalize on any openings provided by Bader.

For Bader to defeat Ortiz, he must manhandle “The Hungtington Beach Bad Boy” by clinching with Ortiz and delivering solid short punches from the inside.

Wearing down Ortiz will minimize his movement providing Bader the opportunity to land that destructive right hand.

Additionally, Bader needs to remain active in the stand-up game by varying his combinations and adjusting his striking angles.

Lastly, even though Ortiz is an excellent wrestler himself, he is not in the same class as Bader. If “Darth” chooses to take this fight to the mat, he will need to set up the take-down attempts with crisp, tactical combinations from his feet.

To make a run at Jon Jones’s title, Ryan “Darth” Bader needs to thoroughly destroy Tito Ortiz and send “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” packing for retirement.

If Bader can execute his game plan, he will once again be amongst the top 10 within the UFC light heavyweight divison.

I welcome your comments.

Todd Seyler

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UFC 132 Preview: Ryan Bader Says He Expects to Face "The Best Tito Ortiz"

It is no secret that Ryan Bader has been eager to square off against Tito Ortiz this weekend at UFC 132. The UFC light heavyweight prospect, who is coming off a loss to Jon Jones at UFC 126, will be looking to reenter contention and it wouldn’t be more…

It is no secret that Ryan Bader has been eager to square off against Tito Ortiz this weekend at UFC 132. The UFC light heavyweight prospect, who is coming off a loss to Jon Jones at UFC 126, will be looking to reenter contention and it wouldn’t be more fitting to earn the victory over a legend like Ortiz.

Bader spoke to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting,com following the UFC 132 pre-fight press conference, and spoke highly of his opponent. Although “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has yet to win inside the Octagon since 2006, Bader expects Ortiz to put on a competitive fight against him and put on a good performance.  

“I expect to face the best Tito Ortiz that’s ever came out and fought,” Bader said. 

“A lot of people aren’t giving him the credit he deserves and I sure do, and I trained my butt off for this fight and I’m ready for the best Tito Ortiz that has ever come out.”

Bader is not only ready for Ortiz, but he is prepared for what Ortiz’s gameplan is. A gameplan that Bader seems to have figured out after reviewing some of his opponent’s past fights.

“In the first two minutes, he’s trying to bully you, trying to land punches, trying to maybe land a takedown, push you on the fence. I believe that’s gonna’ happen and I’m going to throw my hands at that point and he’s going to start tiring out a little bit,” he said of Ortiz.

UFC 132 is live this weekend, live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

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Video: Tito Ortiz Accuses Ariel Helwani of Starting Sh*t Between Him and Ryan Bader

(Video courtesy of YouTube/IronForgesIron)

Well, we can add Tito Ortiz’s name to the growing list of UFC fighters who have accused MMA Fighting reporter Ariel Helwani of starting shit in recent months.

During today’s UFC 132 press conference, Helwani asked Tito’s upcoming opponent Ryan Bader what he thought about Ortiz saying he had weak wrestling and before he had a chance to answer, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” interrupted to inform Ariel that he said no such thing.

In the interview we posted earlier today on the site, Ariel asked Tito if he saw any holes in Bader’s game that he was looking to exploit Saturday night, to which he replied, “His takedowns and his takedown defense,” before describing how he saw some holes in both areas that could leave openings for him to capitalize. He didn’t actually use the term “weak wrestling,” but he did point out that certain aspects of Bader’s wrestling game were lacking in his opinion.

“I never said he had weak wrestling. What are you starting shit for, dude? I never said that. I never said he had weak wrestling. I said I seen holes in his game, but I never said he had weak wrestling. Don’t be putting words in my mouth, dog.”


(Video courtesy of YouTube/IronForgesIron)

Well, we can add Tito Ortiz’s name to the growing list of UFC fighters who have accused MMA Fighting reporter Ariel Helwani of starting shit in recent months.

During today’s UFC 132 press conference, Helwani asked Tito’s upcoming opponent Ryan Bader what he thought about Ortiz saying he had weak wrestling and before he had a chance to answer, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” interrupted to inform Ariel that he said no such thing.

In the interview we posted earlier today on the site, Ariel asked Tito if he saw any holes in Bader’s game that he was looking to exploit Saturday night, to which he replied, “His takedowns and his takedown defense,” before describing how he saw some holes in both areas that could leave openings for him to capitalize. He didn’t actually use the term “weak wrestling,” but he did point out that certain aspects of Bader’s wrestling game were lacking in his opinion.

“I never said he had weak wrestling. What are you starting shit for, dude? I never said that. I never said he had weak wrestling. I said I seen holes in his game, but I never said he had weak wrestling. Don’t be putting words in my mouth, dog.”

Besides maybe over-generalizing Tito’s statements, Helwani didn’t do anything wrong and I’m sure it wasn’t a malicious or sinister oversight on his part, but it’s interesting to note the latest trend of fighters calling Ariel (who many consider the best interviewer in the business) a shit disturber, including Nick Diaz and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Maybe Dana is punking him like Cro Cop did to Mauro Ranallo back in the day.

Reminder: Watch the UFC 132 Pre-Fight Press Conference Live Right Here at 4:00 pm ET


(Tito is not impressed about being at the back of the line)

Just a friendly reminder that we will be streaming the the UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber II pre-fight press conference starting at 4:00 pm ET.

Will there be any face-to-face drama between Faber and Cruz?

Will anyone recognize Wanderlei Silva?

Will Tito Ortiz put together more than two coherent sentences?

All of these questions and more will be answered after the jump.


(Tito is not impressed about being at the back of the line)

Just a friendly reminder that we will be streaming the the UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber II pre-fight press conference starting at 4:00 pm ET.

Will there be any face-to-face drama between Faber and Cruz?

Will anyone recognize Wanderlei Silva?

Will Tito Ortiz put together more than two coherent sentences?

All of these questions and more will be answered below.

Reminder: Watch the UFC 132 Pre-Fight Press Conference Live Right Here at 4:00 pm ET


(Tito is not impressed about being at the back of the line)

Just a friendly reminder that we will be streaming the the UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber II pre-fight press conference starting at 4:00 pm ET.

Will there be any face-to-face drama between Faber and Cruz?

Will anyone recognize Wanderlei Silva?

Will Tito Ortiz put together more than two coherent sentences?

All of these questions and more will be answered after the jump.


(Tito is not impressed about being at the back of the line)

Just a friendly reminder that we will be streaming the the UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber II pre-fight press conference starting at 4:00 pm ET.

Will there be any face-to-face drama between Faber and Cruz?

Will anyone recognize Wanderlei Silva?

Will Tito Ortiz put together more than two coherent sentences?

All of these questions and more will be answered below.

UFC 132 Fight Card: UFC 132 Is the Most Important Night in Ryan Bader’s Career

Ryan Bader, despite that loss to Jon Jones at UFC 126, is still one of the fastest rising prospects in mixed martial arts. He has compiled a 12-1 record, but he doesn’t have that one signature win to put him over the top. His opponent at UFC 132 …

Ryan Bader, despite that loss to Jon Jones at UFC 126, is still one of the fastest rising prospects in mixed martial arts. He has compiled a 12-1 record, but he doesn’t have that one signature win to put him over the top.

His opponent at UFC 132 is Tito Ortiz, a fighter who is not what he once was but still an attention grabber whenever he steps in the octagon.  He hasn’t won since 2006, a span that covers five fights.

The easiest way to become a household name in any sport is to knock off a big name opponent. Cain Velasquez did it when he beat Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones did it when he beat Shogun Rua, Randy Couture did it when he beat Chuck Liddell.

The difference here is that all those guys were fighting guys who were in their prime, but it doesn’t really matter because the casual fan knows the name Tito Ortiz.

The first fight following a loss is always the most important, because it gives you an idea of how the fighter will react to his first real adversity.

From Yahoo.com:

“It sucks,” was Bader’s reaction to the Jones loss. “The week after, I was really mad at myself. If I fought to my potential and went down swinging, it would be one thing. I had a great training camp but I didn’t fight to my potential.

“Something was missing. I don’t know what it was. I was thinking about it for a week, then two weeks after and I couldn’t get rid of what was bothering me. I’ve had to use it for motivation for this fight.”

Bader has a great future in this sport, but this fight will be a test of just how much of a star he will be. If he wins in dominating fashion, the sky is the limit. If it’s a boring, uninspired performance, his star will dim a little bit more.

This isn’t the most glamorous fight in the world thanks to Ortiz’s fall from grace, but this is the most important fight in the young career of Bader. He has the skills to be one of the two best 205-pound fighters in the world, along with Jones, in a few years.

But he has to prove that the adversity he faced in his last fight is not something that will linger with him for a long time.

Given Bader’s terrific wrestling background and always improving stand up game, I would be willing to bet that he puts on a great performance and has his hand raised in victory at UFC 132.

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