Ryan Bader is confident he would do a lot better if he ever got the chance to run things back with UFC champ Jon Jones.
Bader (31-7) faced Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) at UFC 126 in February 2011 in a matchup to dub the “next big thing” in the sport. Jones ended up dominating Bader en route to a second-round submission, handing him his first career loss.
Since then, both fighters’ careers have flourished. Jones went on to reign over the UFC’s light heavyweight division for years and recently captured the UFC heavyweight title. Bader would also see success in two divisions, but under a different banner. Bader became a two-weight champion at Bellator, and thinks he’s grown exponentially since fighting Jones 13 years ago.
