Ryan
Bader’s bid to reclaim light heavyweight gold came up short in
the semifinals of the light heavyweight grand prix, where he
suffered a 51-second technical knockout loss to Corey
Anderson in the Bellator 268 co-main event on Saturday
night.
Despite fighting in front of a hometown crowd at the Footprint
Center in Phoenix, Ariz., the former Arizona State University
All-American wrestler was unable to get going against Anderson.
Bader was floored by an overhand right early, and though he tried
desperately to defend himself against the ensuing hailstorm of
follow-up ground-and-pound, his opponent would not be denied.
Bader recently released a brief statement on Instagram in the
aftermath of the defeat.
“The game we play…not the result we wanted but felt the love in
AZ!” Bader wrote. “Thank you guys for always having my back.”
Though it appears Bader’s run at 205 pounds in Bellator might be at
its end, the Power MMA Team stalwart remains the promotion’s
reigning heavyweight king. That means a title unification bout with
interim champ Valentin
Moldavsky could be in the offing once Bader gets some time to
recover.