Ryan Bader: I’m Going To Prove A Lot Of People Wrong

Glover Teixeira is riding a lot of hype coming in to his UFN 28 scrap with Ryan Bader, and quite justifiably; he is probably the hottest prospect that the UFC has signed since Jon Jones.

With the hype comes a jaw dropping –440 betting line in favor of Teixeira, something that Ryan Bader is thriving off:

“I love to be in this position to have everybody counting me out,” Bader said in an interview with Bleacherreport.com “Everybody will be real surprised at the end of the night when I go out there and get the win, and it just makes a little bit sweeter.”

“It comes with the territory. People bring stuff out, I remember people saying ‘you got dropped by Tito (Ortiz), you suck,’ and they don’t credit any of my other wins or that I’m 17-3. It comes with the territory,” Bader said. “It does kind of piss you off a little bit when everybody is counting you out. The fans are counting you out. Glover’s talking about his fight with (Jon) Jones. Jones is talking about his fight with Glover in the future, all that kind of stuff.”

Bader also had quite a bit of hype at 205, after winning TUF season eight and going 12-0 as a pro. After his win against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Bader suffered back to back losses against Jon Jones and Tito Ortiz; something that set him back in the rankings.

Bader stands to gain just as much, if not more than Teixeira at UFN 28.

“I think the hype is justified coming in, being undefeated and going on an 18-fight win streak. That’s hard to do regardless of anybody. He hasn’t fought the same caliber of guys that I have,” Bader said. “Four out of my last six fights have been champions or former champions, and I’ve fought consistent top-ten guys, and he hasn’t. My three losses that I do have are to champions.”

“I feel like I’m hitting my stride and have everything really come together. I think this is the fight where I do make that statement that I’m getting better every fight that I’m out there. I’m getting smarter, I’m in better shape and with just more experience. I feel like this fight is the fight where I go out there and prove a lot of people wrong. A lot of people are counting me totally out of this fight. It will put me closer to where I want to be and where I deserve to be.”

Bader certainly seems to have the right mindset in the lead up to the biggest fight of his career, and he does have many of the same qualities possessed by his foe at UFN 28. He has heavy hands, great wrestling and a mean offensive submission game.

“I know I can go out there and beat him. I know I’m doing the right training and all that. Being counted out is the best thing,” Bader said. “I remember when we were at (Chris) Weidman’s and Anderson (Silva’s) fight, and we were all sitting there eating before we were walking into the fight, and we were with a bunch of friends, and we’re all picking Weidman. There was a highlight of Weidman and then of Anderson Silva, and a couple of the friends looked at each other and they were like ‘I don’t know if he can do it.’ Then he went out there and did it and it was huge.”

“That’s what I want to do to Glover. I want to get in there and beat him. It shoots me up the rankings and I start getting talked about, and that’s how you get a title shot eventually. It starts right here, and I’m in a good position to do it.”

I’m excited to see how this fight goes down, and if Bader beats Teixeira; should he garner the next title shot at 205? If not, he will certainly be in the frame for the next contender fight.

It’s hard to forget the last time that Bader met Jones in the cage, Jones ragdolled Bader, and it will be interesting to see if Bader can put those demons behind him. Jones only gets better with each fight, and if Bader can’t get past Teixera; he should probably consider a change in weight class.