Ryan Bader redeemed himself at Bellator 273, but now it’s onto ‘unfinished business’

PHOENIX – WhenRyan Bader stepped into the cage Saturday, ghosts of a devastating October loss still loomed large at Footprint Center.

However, Bader (29-7 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) silenced many critics and doubters when he defeated then-interim heavyweight champion Valentin Moldavsky (11-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) via unanimous decision in a title unification bout at Bellator 273.

“It felt so good, considering the last fight,” Bader told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at a post-fight news conference. “If I were to have had a fight that I lost but it was going back-and-forth or even if we went the whole (five rounds). But the last fight was just under a minute. It was anticlimactic. To go out there and have an exciting, heavyweight championship five-rounder with a tough, tough dude in Arizona? I wanted that bad.”