Dana White: Ryan Bader will 'deserve his shot' at UFC title with win over Anthony Johnson

Title shot promises from Dana White are often taken with a grain of salt, but at least Ryan Bader can say he has the UFC president on record supporting his cause.

If Bader (20-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) can get past Anthony Johnson (20-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) in the main event of UFC on FOX 18 later this month, White said “Darth” would get his opportunity to challenge for the UFC light-heavyweight title against the winner of Daniel Cormier (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and Jon Jones (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC).

“Bader has been on a run; Bader’s wanted a shot at (Cormier),” White said on FOX Sports 1’s “UFC Tonight.” “If he can get through the monster, Anthony Johnson, his shot will be well-deserved.”

UFC on FOX 18 takes place Jan. 30 at Newark’s Prudential Center. The main card airs on FOX following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

If it were up to Bader, he would have had his title shot long ago. He had a strong case after he defeated Phil Davis by split decision at UFC on FOX 14 in January, but was passed over for a slot in the vacant title bout between Cormier and Johnson at UFC 187 in May after Jones was stripped of the gold and indefinitely suspended after a myriad of issues outside the octagon.

After Cormier captured the vacant title with a fourth-round submission of Johnson, it appeared Bader would get his chance when a verbal altercation with “DC” broke out at UFC 187’s post-fight press conference in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the UFC went a different direction and booked Cormier in a title fight with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192 in October.

Bader was also placed in a fight at UFC 192, but his opponent was former champion Rashad Evans. Bader defeated Evans by unanimous decision (http://mmajunkie.com/2015/10/ufc-192-results-ryan-bader-shuts-down-rashad-evans-gets-unanimous-decision-sweep) for arguably the most significant win of his career, and with a five-fight winning streak to his credit, he didn’t think he would be passed over again.

That’s exactly what happened, though, because the timing of Jones’ comeback from suspension lined up for exactly when Bader’s shot would come to fruition. That means he had to take another fight, and Johnson was the most logical option available.

Johnson is one of the most fearsome strikers on the UFC roster and has the one-punch knockout ability to put anyone in the division to sleep. If Bader can get through “Rumble” and push his winning streak to six, White said there’s no way “The Ultimate Fighter 8” winner can be denied any longer.

For more on UFC on FOX 18, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

view original article >>