“I didn’t think it was fair. I thought Rockhold had to beat me or wait for my turn before he could fight for the title. That’s the reality, it could not have been another way. Unfortunately, what happened was different and we’ll have to do another fight.”

“They have their policy and we must respect it. We are UFC employees, but sometimes things don’t go our way. I’m happy despite what happened, which bummed me out a little. Sometimes I wonder why people don’t give credit to our work. My fight with Rockhold was a five round battle and people make fun of me. They don’t know how tough he is. Sometimes a loss will happen even if it’s by the hand of the judges. We must come back stronger. I’m eager to fight and always ready. Give me an opponent and I will walk through him.”

UFC middleweight Jacare Souza is in a similar position to that of light-heavyweight Ryan Bader, in that they both expected a title shot and instead got passed up by someone else. Above is what he had to say about it to Portal do Vale Tudo.

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