Ryan Bader Wants UFC Title Shot Before Jon Jones Returns

When former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was suspected of being involved in a felony hit-and-run accident in New Mexico in April, the Las Vegas-based fight promotion acted swiftly to ensure that the 205-pound division wasn’t put on hold while Jones sorted out his legal issues.

Jones turned himself in to authorities on April 27 after an arrest warrant was issued by the Albuquerque Police Department. He had a scheduled title defense against Anthony Johnson less than a month later on May 23, headlining the UFC 187 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas.

Jones appeared before a judge the next day, April 28, and met with UFC president Dana White and UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta later that afternoon. That evening, it was announced that Jones was stripped of his title and suspended indefinitely by the fight promotion.

RELATED > Jon Jones Pleads Guilty to Felony, but Avoids Jail Time

With Jones removal from the 205-pound landscape, opportunities arose for others in the weight class. Daniel Cormier, who was coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jones, stepped up on short notice to face Johnson at UFC 187 for the vacated title. Cormier submitted Johnson by rear-naked choke in the third round to capture the belt.

“DC” defended his title for the first time at UFC 192 on Oct. 3, defeating Alexander Gustafsson by split decision. Gustafsson entered the fight coming off a loss to Johnson in his previous outing.

While Jones’ departure led to title fight opportunities for Cormier and Gustafsson, third-ranked Ryan Bader believes that he’s unquestionably earned the next title shot. While logically he sits next in line, Jones’ return could remove him from the immediate title picture.

On Sept. 29, four days before Cormier successfully defended his light heavyweight title, Jones entered a guilty plea to a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident and received 18 months of supervised probation. He must also do 72 separate appearances for charity or youth outreach. If he completes his obligations, the felony charge will be removed from his record.

It’s unknown when the UFC will reinstate Jones, but considering that he’s one of the organization’s biggest stars, it’s just a question of when.

Bader firmly believes that he deserves the next title shot, and thinks Jones’ return should be on hold until after he fights for the title. Bader is on a five-fight winning steak, including a clear-cut unanimous decision win over former champion Rashad Evans in his last outing.

“That’s the thing, there are so many variables. I don’t know. The variables that I can control were Rashad, going out there and beating Rashad. So I did that, got that done. So where do we go from here? I don’t know. We’re waiting on Jon Jones’ situation. So there’s really not much I can do. But as of my mindset right now, I’m fighting Daniel Cormier, and we’re seeing what’s going to happen with Jones, until Jones comes back. So we’ll see,” Bader recently told Submission Radio.

Bader doesn’t think the UFC should rush to lift Jones’ suspension.  After all, Jones pleaded guilty to the crime.

“What I think they [UFC] should do, is they should wait, probably…I don’t know, 10 months, and give Ryan Bader his title shot, and  [Jon Jones] can come back and fight me once I get that. That’s what I think should happen,” said the 32-year-old 205-pound contender.