The subsequent cease for former Bellator heavyweight and lightweight heavyweight champion is now recognized, because it seems he’s signing with Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN.
Bader appeared on the Rizin: Otoko Matsuri occasion held on the Tokyo Dome on Might 4, asserting plans to tackle the winner of the RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix match. Such a combat would happen on the finish of this yr at RIZIN’s annual New 12 months’s Eve card.
BREAKING NEWSRyan Bader will face the Grand Prix Champion on New 12 months's Eve![ #RIZINOtokoMatsuri | Live on RIZINtv ]
https://t.co/SJYljaZ7L1 pic.twitter.com/nBCMN7Q4xd
— RIZIN.television (@RIZINTV_) Might 4, 2025
This will likely be Bader’s first MMA combat since his 21-second TKO loss to Renan Ferreira on the PFL vs. Bellator Champions vs. Champions card in February 2024. Bader formally parted methods with the PFL in March, two months after it was formally introduced that the PFL was folding the Bellator model. The PFL had formally bought Bellator MMA in November 2023.
Ryan Bader To Combat In RIZIN On New 12 months’s Eve
Bader received the Bellator heayvweight championship by successful the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix held from January 2018-January 2019. The match noticed Bader defeat Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, Matt Mitrione and Fedor Emelianenko to turn into champion. Bader turned the primary Bellator heavyweight champion since Vitaly Minakov was formally stripped of the title in 2016 and have become the primary double champion in Bellator historical past.
Bader defended the heavyweight title in opposition to Cheick Kongo, Valentin Moldavsky and Emelianenko earlier than Bellator’s buy by the PFL.
Bader was additionally the sunshine heavyweight champion at one level, successful the title in his Bellator debut at Bellator 180. He’d defend that title in opposition to Linton Vassell earlier than dropping the title to Vadim Nemkov.
The eight-man RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix started on the Might 4 occasion, which noticed Marek Samociuk defeat Daniel James, José Augusto Azevedo finest Tsuyoshi Sudario and Mikio Ueda beat Shoma Shibisai. The remaining quarterfinal will happen between Islambek Baktybek Uulu and Alexander Soldatkin.
