UFC Fight Night 28's Ryan Bader says scouting trip, fan doubt, fueled his prep

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – Breaking training camp to fly 12,000 miles round trip in the interest of promoting a fight isn’t generally common practice for an athlete. But for UFC Fight Night 28 headliner Ryan Bader, what could have been a difficult challenge wound up being what he feels is a huge benefit.

“I don’t really like to travel much in camp,” Bader told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I like to keep a routine and all that. But it was actually pretty good because I got to go down to Brazil and see what the flight was like. Then I got to go to the fights in Rio de Janeiro, so I got to also see what the crowd was like, see what kind of chants they’ll be throwing my way and all of that stuff.

“Then we actually went to Belo Horizonte, so overall it was good. It sucks to leave when you’re in training camp, but there were also some positives to it, too.”

Bader (15-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) meets Glover Teixeira (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in the headlining bout of tonight’s UFC Fight Night 28 event, which takes place at Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It airs on FOX Sports 1.

Brazil’s reputation as a harsh environment for foreign fighters is well-established by now. Statistically speaking, Brazilians own a 42-12 mark in the UFC when fighting in their home country and facing a foreigner.

From a less mathematical perspective, visiting fighters must be psychologically strong enough to realize the Brazilian crowd will be shouting at them in Portuguese, “You’re going to die!”

Bader said his trip to August’s UFC 163 event in Rio de Janeiro, which accompanied a quick stop in Belo Horizonte to promote tonight’s fight card, helped him mentally prepare for the experience.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,” Bader said. “They’re just passionate about MMA, passionate about the UFC. Obviously, they’re going to be rooting and chanting for their hometown guy and against me and the other Americans, but it’s actually all in fun.

“I got to meet a bunch of the fans there, and everybody was really cool and polite and just passionate about MMA. Overall, it was a good experience.”

Bader also familiarized himself with the lengthy travel process, which saw him fly from Phoenix to Houston to Rio de Janeiro and finally to Belo Horizonte, as well as locate a few local shops and restaurants where he could secure the proper food necessary for fight week.

Overall, he said the trip, while a bit inconvenient, served as a fantastic dress rehearsal for tonight’s event. And while he knows the crowd will be decidedly pro-Teixeira, he believes his mindset will not be affected. His only concern is that judges and referees behave similarly.

“You just hope a judge or a referee doesn’t take the crowd into account because it could be a time where I’m working for a takedown or agains the cage, and they’re going to boo no matter what I’m doing,” Bader said. “Sometimes the crowd gets going, and it seems to influence the referee. Or vice versa: He could be doing the same thing that I’m doing, but he gets time because they’re cheering.”

So Bader believes he’s as ready as can be for the elements. The real challenge, of course, lies in his opponent, who brings an incredible 19-fight winning streak to the cage.

Bader knows what his opponent brings the cage, namely knockout power and underrated grappling skills. Oddsmakers have installed Teixeira as a near 4-1 favorite in the matchup, and UFC officials have said an impressive win for the Brazilian could mean a title shot.

For Bader, that alone might be most responsible for his readiness.

“It does piss me off that he’s talking about fighting Jon Jones, or all the fans are talking about the matchup for his title shot and totally overlooking me,” Bader said. “It does piss em off when they’re doing that. He’s got a tough fight ahead of him, and I plan on going out there and upsetting the UFC’s plans and his plans. It gives you a little extra motivation. It’s going to be a rough night for him.”

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 28, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.