Two-division Bellator champion Ryan Bader believes fellow UFC veteran Corey Anderson made the right decision moving to Bellator.
Bader, who rules over the Bellator light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, weighed in on Anderson’s Bellator move in an interview with MMA Fighting.
He’s adamant that Anderson will be paid much more as a Bellator fighter than he was as a member of the UFC roster.
“I know Corey pretty well, too, we trained together in the past,” Bader said. “I brought him in when I fought Phil Davis and all that kind of stuff.”
“That’s a great pickup for Bellator and I think it was a great decision on his part, too. I can guarantee you he’s getting paid way more.”
Bader added that Anderson will not only benefit from a boosted salary as a Bellator fighter, but he’ll enjoy more freedom than he had in the UFC.
“With Bellator, just like myself, it’s a little more freeing for yourself,” Bader said. “Like I did for myself. Like I got to do the Grand Prix and all that.
“I’m very happy for Corey and he brings another good name and some depth to the division and some new blood. Obviously, he’s going to be in title contention or be fighting in a title eliminator right away.”
While Bader believes Anderson will benefit from this move to Bellator, he also sees the former UFC light heavyweight’s move to the Viacom-owned promotion as a positive development for himself, as he feels he’s running low on viable light heavyweight title challengers.
“He’s a great name, and he just knocked off one of the UFC’s rising stars in Johnny Walker,” Bader said. “He was on a good streak, a top-four [ranked] guy. I welcome all these guys to come over. It was getting kind of stale.
“Like what do we do? Do we do another rematch with Phil Davis? Go out and beat [Vadim] Nemkov, and then what are we looking at? He’s definitely welcomed and I’m excited about that fight, excited for him and excited for Bellator.”
Do you think we’ll see Corey Anderson and Ryan Bader battling for Bellator light heavyweight gold in the near future?