MMA Fighting - Fighter vs. Writer: Curtis Blaydes On Why UFC Should Allow Ngannou to Box Fury; Ryan Bader Reveals 205 Days Are Likely Over

Episode Date: January 25, 2022

On the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes joins the show to help breakdown the UFC 270 main event where Francis Ngannou successfully defended his title with a unanimous decision victory over Ciryl Gane. Blaydes will gives his thoughts on Ngannou’s performance and how he was able to turn to his wrestling to beat Gane when the early knockout didn’t happen. Blaydes will also discuss Ngannou’s ongoing battle with the UFC over his contract and the pursuit of a lucrative boxing match against heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader also joins the show this week to talk about his upcoming title defense against Valentin Moldavsky, what went wrong in his fight with Corey Anderson and how his days competing at 205 pounds are likely over. Bader will also address a potential rematch against Fedor Emelianenko and what it would take for him to travel to Russia for that fight. All this and much more on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. Follow Curtis Blaydes @RazorBlaydes265 Follow Ryan Bader @RyanBader Follow Damon Martin @DamonMartin Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify Read More: MMA Fighting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Welcome back to the Fighter versus the Rider. I am Damon Martin, as always, and today I am proud to be joined by one of the best heavyweights in our sport, and I could not think of a better person to help me break down all the action from UFC 270, particularly, of course, the heavyweight title fight, then the great Curtis Blades. Curtis, how are you? I'm doing good, man. How are you?

I'm fantastic, man. Thank you so much for taking the time, of course. coming off a big win in your last fight, you're right in the thick of the heavyweight title picture, so I imagine you were paying a lot of attention to UFC 270. Yeah, yes, I was. So initially, like, what were your thoughts going in? Like, what opinion did you have in the fight going into it?

Honestly, the way it ended, I didn't predict it. I don't think anyone predicted it the way it ended. I had it, I thought, either Francis, Fonson, knockout within the first round and a half or uh gone was going to be able to kick and pop the way he did against Derek Lewis and maybe even him find the TKO but I thought at least he would get the decision and honestly I thought he was the better uh grappler of the two but a B Francis because they used to spar together he just he had the confidence

because that he's already kicked him down before he he he he went there and I was impressed. I didn't think he'd ever be able to, or I'd be able to because obviously he's athletic. I didn't think you'd ever

have the interest in developing his wrestling game. But obviously, he has. He's growing as an MMA fighter and knock on lie, that's a little scary forever, everyone else in the division.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I talked to his coach, Eric Nixon going into the fight. He had told me that, you know, going into the state bay rematch, He said he'd been working a lot on his wrestling knowing Steppe would probably try to take him down. He said, be aware, you might see him shoot a blast double at some point.

And I kind of chuckled because it's like, you know, you think of Francis and God, you're not thinking of a guy going out there wrestling. But, you know, listen, he lost the first two rounds. And to come back and do what he did from round three on, I mean, again, that's super impressive. Yeah, I didn't think he'd have the conditioning to be able to end it with that much energy in his legs and stuff. but obviously he's put some more emphasis on his conditioning and it paid off. We all know that, you know, when you're a mixed martial artist, Curtis, and you know this,

you've had, you know, dominant fights where you've taken guys down and you've knocked people out. That's just both sides of the sport. Were you, I won't say, were you like, I don't say disappointed, it's the wrong word. Were you surprised at the kind of the lack of ability of Cyril gone to get up or try to scramble free? Now, not to say having a 260 pound heavyweight, like Francis and Gano on top of you is scary. I totally understand that. But it just seemed like a lot of that he was kind of stuck underneath him. Like he didn't really try to scramble.

He really didn't try to break free. And he just kind of got, because it wasn't like Francis was like, you know, ground and pounding him. He wasn't like hammering away. You know, he was a lot of control. And it just seemed like Cyril was kind of stuck. Yeah. I think that that comes into the weight difference. Like, even though it was only a few pounds.

makes a difference. I think in Gano was able to do just enough to maintain a top position. And yeah, I was very surprised that Ghan, he didn't at least attempt to like explode up a

few times. It seemed like he was like conserved his energy for a big push in the last round. And that's what I was expecting also, but that didn't happen either. So, yeah, it was, it's not the way I predict that fight to go at all. What did you make of the moment when he dropped down for the heel hook?

Now, listen, you know, I know enough about Jiu-Jitsu and have done enough very, very, very little compared to anybody in the UFC, of course, but, like, I know enough about Jiu-Sucin to know how nasty a heel-hook is, but in that moment, especially late in the fight, he had gotten a takedown, and he was actually on top, and it seemed like, ooh, here's your chance, and then he gives it up with the leg lock late in the fight, you're sweaty, it's a lot harder to hold on to a foot at that? Were you, were you shocked? Were you like, oh, come on.

Like, what was your reaction when you saw him go for that hill hook? I wasn't shocked because that kind of fits into his personality, how he fights. He's a finessey guy. That's a finessey move. It's a risky move. He does a lot of risky stuff on his feet. So it makes sense that he would be, he would have the same mindset on the ground. Like, do I think that was the right thing to do?

No. I think if you get, for instance, on its back, even if you don't have that much time left, I would rather implement the ground in town. But maybe he didn't believe he would be able to find the finish on the ground. And that just comes down to how you spar. If he's doing those things and sparring again, and it works for him and he's getting away with it,

it only makes sense that he would bring it to the octagon. Like you're only going to attempt that if you're hitting it with like a decent amount of six That's why you're sparring That's why I wouldn't over it because I haven't hit one in sparring yet So I don't have the confidence to hit it in a fight Yeah, you know, you've gone you know, a big part of the reason I want to speak to you is because you know you've gone into fights where you're not a hundred percent I don't think any fighter truly goes into a fight a hundred percent I mean you're always a little banged up injuries but Francis has come out and said you know he had a pretty serious knee injury now I heard

about this before the fight heard the rumors there was some sort of serious knee injury he came in with the knee sleeves and I think you could tell in the first couple rounds even though cyril is is a lot about movement and footwork I think you could tell that that Francis wasn't quite himself he wasn't walking him down he wasn't throwing the punches the same way but then to come out and win the way he did knowing that he didn't have his best stuff that night he didn't have his best you know, power, his best movement. What does that say about a guy, you know, when he's able to win that?

Because not every fight's going to be a first round knockout. Not every fight's going to be a highlight reel. You've got to win ugly fights. That's just it. It shows the growth. Like, how he lost to Stipe, that was an ugly fight. He was on the other end of that spectrum.

Now this time he flips it, he's the one imposing his will using his rest of, which is again unexpected but that's just growth like you said every fight isn't going to be flashy it's not going to be the type of fight that you you have been visualizing for weeks and weeks i've had that happen a lot of times like when i fought junior dos Santos i envisioned myself getting the takedown i did not envision him being able to stop all my takedowns then we had to switch it up and that's exactly what he did. They switched up the game plan.

And that's high level stuff. Absolutely. On the flip side, you know, Cyril Gahn had looked, I want to say untouchable, but he had been pretty untouchable. I think he'd lost one round on one scorecard during his UFC career. And he had several decisions, which again, you know, playing it heavyweight, that's dangerous, you know, because you're always going in every round knowing you could just get one,

one wrong move and you get knocked out. again, you can't get in his head. You don't know what he's thinking right now. But do you feel like this is kind of a pivotal moment for him? Because we finally saw maybe a little bit of weakness in his game. That's not an insult. But, you know, I mean, again, we don't know Curtis or we don't know Francis is like the greatest wrestler. He got taken down multiple times held down in the ground, all those kind of things.

Like, do you feel like this is kind of like a pivotal moment for him? Because he's still very young. I think he's only got like 10 or 11 fights. And that can be, I mean, we've seen it. He didn't get knocked out. but we've seen guys just not come back from those kind of losses before. I think A-stone all this success you've had. You don't have the success you've had without being mentally pretty, pretty strong.

I don't think this is going to, this is a fight that will have a major negative impact. Honestly, I think it'll do the opposite. Like, every time I lose, it opens my eyes like, okay, this is how I lost. this is what I need to work on and it just makes you better. That's what she's supposed to do. Yeah, absolutely. And on the flip side, you know, we could talk about, you know, all the impressive things that Francis has done.

And I know you fought him twice and you've said you have a lot of respect for him. You know what I mean? There's no bad blood or anything there. But I would say, and maybe I'm wrong. Tell me if I'm wrong. But I would say, you know, for all the great knockouts he's had and the big wins. And of course, beating Steepa is a big deal considering how their first fight played out. but I'm not going to say this is the most impressive Francis had ever been because I would I would be lying if I said that.

But I would say this was one of the times I was most impressed only because he didn't do what we know him to do. He didn't get the knockout. He didn't get the early finish. He had to go five rounds. He had never won a decision before in his entire career. He had never won a decision. I mean, again, this isn't one we're going to go back years from now and say, oh my God. Do you remember this Francis and gone to performance?

but like in terms of being impressed with his growth and who he is the fighter, I was kind of blown away. Yeah, it's shown that he's getting smarter. I mean, and that's supposed to happen. Like each fight, you're able to, and he's supposed to slow down just a little bit every time. I think it really slowed down. I think the fact that they were sparring partners that played a huge emphasis on it.

Like it gave him the confidence to be like, I've taken him down before. I can do it because you don't owe anything until you do it. Everyone I've ever taken down, I believed I could take him down. I didn't. It wasn't 100%. I think he had a lot more confidence because of their prior relationship. I think that really played a major part.

his decision that used the wrestling. Yeah, absolutely. And again, you know, not every fight's going to go the way you expected. Just like you talked about with Junior Dos Santos, you know, going out there when you weren't able to wrestle him, you knocked him out on the feet. You have to show that diversity in your game.

We really hadn't seen that from Francis before. And kudos to him for doing it, right? Like that's, you know, you just got to give the guy credit for going out there and winning a different way. Yeah, it's hard. It's hard. People don't understand. Like, there's a reason a lot of heavyways don't want to use grappling

because it takes a lot of energy. And you don't get the immediate payoff. Like, there's a gradual effect, but it's not like immediate. It's like attrition. And a lot of guys, they don't want to play that game. Like you said, each round you get to stand up. And now you're back in the danger zone until you can find the takedown again. If you can do that for five rounds, it's a good way to win,

but it's just hard on the body. and a lot of big guys don't want to do it. And I know that, for instance, he's not going to just turn into, like, a wrestler. I think the injury played a major partner and just a familiar degree. I think whoever he gets next, if he decides to resign with the UFC,

I think he goes out there healthy and he's hucking bombs again. Yeah. Let me kind of switch gears and talk about that, Curtis, because you've been open before. You've been honest about your own contract situation. and your own relationship with the UFC in terms of what you earn and what you are doing as a fighter, you're providing for a family, you're doing this as a career, you know the danger's involved.

And I'm not going to sit here and ask you to speak for Francis and gone or know the ends and outs of his relationship with the UFC. You know, he says it's not about money. He wants more freedom to be able to do things like maybe pursue a boxing fight. You have more freedom to do things he wants. And he also talked about health insurance, things like that. that, but as an outsider looking in, and as a guy who's been in the UFC and understands how UFC contracts work, again, you've, you've brought up this situation in your own personal

career. What do you make in this situation? Like, I imagine you've got to be of two minds because, again, you're a part of the UFC, but you've, you've gone through this. You know what it's like. Yeah, I mean, well, for him, it's on a much bigger scale. Like, I know he says it's not about the money, but it has to be a small factor. like he, I'm sure he wants a little bit of raise.

And I think they'll work it out because I think Francis has another two or three, like, really amazing years of heavyweight. And then after that, it'll be a little bit of a decline because you're getting older. He's getting older. He's 30, what, 36. So, yeah, he's still got some prime years. And I think the UFC is going to want to, like, you want those years. You want him under the promotion.

and is when he's he still has the juice. So I think he'll work it out, especially because he has the boat. Like, that helps. Were you, did you, you were watching the show, and I, again, I don't know how much you're paying attention to it afterwards,

but did you notice Dana White didn't put the belt on him on Saturday? Because I reacted to that and, because he put the belt on Devis and Figurato, and then he didn't do it for Francis. And I'm like, how could you not read into this? Like, I understand, like there's a battle going on with Francis

and his management team and the U.S. I get all that. I understand all that, but I'm just like, to me, and I know I'm making a wild of mind filled here. Curtis asked you about Dana White, the boss, but I'm just like, to me it was really petty. I'm just like, come on. Like put the belt around the guy.

You don't have to be, you don't have to be best friends. I mean, you know, him and Tito hated each other for years and they still got along well enough to, you know, put him in the UFC. And that was way more personal than I think what's going on with Francis. But were you surprised or you just kind of, I don't know,

is that just par for the course? worse when two sides are kind of at battle with each other? I was surprised, but not overly, like, once I thought about it, yeah, I'm like, Francis probably isn't, Dana's favorite person on the roster right now, so it kind of makes sense, you know, like he doesn't have to put the belt on them, does he? It's not like a rule, so I guess when you're the boss, you can do what you want to do, and I guess he didn't want to put the belt on him. Yeah.

Let me ask this, Curtis, because, you know, we all know the chat. And again, again, I don't know the exact ins and outs of Francis's contract negotiation. I don't know exactly what he's asking for. Maybe there's a chance he's asking for the moon and, you know, maybe the UFC is in the right. I don't know. I'm not in the room. I can't say what they're asking for or what's being offered. But we know that he's talked about this boxing match with Tyson Fury.

That's something he's wanted to do for a while. And I know from talking to Francis years ago, he's always said, boxing is something he wanted to pursue, and I'm not going to fault him for that. But just in terms of this side of it, like, if he's really going to make a $30 million payday, let's say, to fight Tyson Fury. Now, I don't think he'll beat Tyson Fury. I love Francis. I think Francis is a monster.

I don't think he's going to beat Tyson Fury. But you give me $30 million. I'll box Tyson Fury. I'll lose, too, but I'll box him a lot. So, like, where, like, where do you fall in this situation when you look at this? because, like, I can't, like, they did it for Connor. They made a concession for Connor. If he's got a chance to go to make $30, $40 million,

I just, I hate that, like, I feel like I hate it that it can happen for one guy and it can't happen for another guy. Like, I feel like they see, if they didn't want it to happen, they shouldn't have done it for Connor. Now you got other guys who want to do it. And it's like, well, if you don't let Francis do it,

then why did you let Connor do it? I think that's, that's, uh, the crux of the issue. You open the door when you let McGregor do it. And, like, I don't see a real reason why Francis shouldn't be allowed to do it. I cannot think of a legit reason because McGregor was able to do it. Like, yeah, there's a risk of injury, but, okay, injuries can happen whenever. They can happen at practice.

Like, that's not a good enough reason, especially when he's, he could potentially earn, like, what you said, like, early. Even there's only 5 million. That's a lot of money. It's a lot of money. So I don't blame Francis for wanting to take the boxing match. I cannot blame them. And I just hope they get it worked out because that slows everything down for everyone else beneath the division.

Like if Francis has the belt and their argument for a year, then we got to do the interim thing again and we got to hope that he comes back. It just, it makes it a lot harder for guys like me possibly be able to project halfway to get to the belt if I don't know what's happening

with a guy who does have the belt. Then we still got guys like John, we don't know what he's doing. And we still got Steve-Bey. We don't know what Steve-Bey's doing. So it was just, it would make it a lot, year for guys like me to be a project if we knew he was going to be in the UFC or if he wasn't going to get a UFC. Either way, I just hope they can reach a decision and they don't have

to drag it out. Yeah. Well, I know he has said that, you know, basically with his contract, he's 100% under contract to like December as part of the Champions Clause. And I know he said he's probably going to have to have knee surgery, which, you know, again, if it ends up being ACL surgery, that would probably keep him out nine months to a year anyways. Is that the hardest part? You just kind of said it. I mean, that's got to be the hardest part. You're coming off a big win.

Your record's been stellar lately. And when I look at the division, I mean, I think it's you at Steepa. And again, if John comes in, I know you've had doubts about that. But, I mean, it's basically you three. And then you got Francis. Like, is that the hardest part? Again, I know as a fighter, as a competitor, you know, you want that. And I know you understand where Francis is coming from.

I know you said that. you understand where he's coming from, but in your own personal career, it does kind of throw you into disarray, right? Yeah, it puts me in a weird spot. Like, I'm in like a limbo, because I don't know, I know you're probably going to ask,

like, who am I going to get next? I have no idea. There's an alternate reality where maybe I get CPE, maybe I get gone, maybe someone else is injured and I do get in Gano again. Like, there's an alternate reality, where each of those is a possibility.

And right now, it's, the clarity just isn't there. Because for one, we don't, we don't know if he's going to like, is he going to be out for nine months? Is he going to get the surgery? And just a lot of unknown right now. And it does suck. But it's the part of the business. It's, it's been like this almost, I hold my career in UFC.

I got in in 2016. and ever since the first DC versus C-Pay fight, it's been a lot of like lack of mobility in the rankings because it's always been some type of issue with the guy who has the belt. So I'm just, I'm used to it. Yeah. Let me ask this, because if you would have told me when Francis won the belt last March that they were going to make an interim champion, you know, four months later,

I would say, you're out of your mind. Like, why would you make it? And I still to this day don't understand that. I know they had a pay-per-view to fill, but I still don't understand why an interim title was introduced four months after they just crowned a champion. But that's, again, in the past now because, you know, Francis won and there's no more interim title.

But we got to be honest, Curtis, if he's going to be out for nine months for a year or, you know, potentially he's not going to come back to the UFC, I wouldn't be shocked at the UFC said, hey, let's crown another champion in the next year, three to four months because, you know, we may not get Francis back and we got to keep the division moving. Let me ask you personally, kind of a two-part question.

One, would you understand that they did that? I know you're not advocating for them. I'm not saying you're pushing for it, but I'm saying, would you understand if they did that? And two, as a fighter, would you be interested? Like, would you fight steep for an interim title? Yes and yes. I mean, I get it because, yeah, if you don't know how long the current, champion is going to be out.

And if, no, if you do have an idea of how long he's going to be out, you think it's going to be like almost a year. Yeah, interim, it makes sense. Like you said, they got paperview slots they need to fill. And it just sets up an automatic opponent. That's why I like it. Like, you know you, if you win the interim paddle, yeah, it's not the real belt,

but you know you're going to get a paddle shot. So I like that. And yeah, if it was Deepe or whomever, I would love to have an interim power shot. Yeah. And where you're at in the division right now, I mean, it makes sense. Like I said,

I think it's you and Steepa and the only other X factor, so to speak, is John. Now, I take nothing away from Derek Lewis. Of course, he's, you know, he just came off a big win over Chris Dawkins. He's got another fight against Ty Toe Yvasa, but he did just lose to Cyril Ghan who just fought for the title.

He got Cyril Gond. Of course, just lost to Francis and Gondu. So I'm kind of playing the odds of who's on winning streaks right now. Who's coming off wins? And it's you, well, I know Steve Bay's not, but Steve Bay's, you know, again, former champion. He thought he was going to get a rematch, all those kind of things. I think you and Steve A, and then John is kind of the X factor, right? With Derricko's specifically, I heard he's told the U.S.

He doesn't, he, he does not want any more main event fights. He doesn't want any more five-rounders. I don't think he has aspirations. of a title shot. I don't think he does. Yeah. It seemed like he talked about that before, the pressure of fighting in Houston,

all those things. Like, it seems like, and listen, I'm not, you know, I have nothing, I've known Derek, I've interviewed Derek's, you know, always a nice guy, funny guy.

It just seems like he's a guy who goes out there and he can win fights, of course. I mean, you know, we talked about your battle with him. Um, but it just seems like he's not a guy

who really enjoys these big moments. So, like the title fights. Like, when he fought DC, didn't look like himself and just, you know, again, got, you know, choked out or whatever, and then against gone, he just looked like he wasn't there. Like, he just didn't look present. And maybe that's just it.

Again, and there's, listen, there's nothing wrong if he just wants to go out and have big fights, make $100,000 paydays, $200,000 paydays, whatever it is. I just don't, I don't feel like he, I don't feel like he really wants to be a champion. And I don't mean that as an insult. I just like, he just doesn't seem like he's into it. No, I think, because you have to have a, champion's mindset. And his mindset is,

I just want to swing one punch and hope it lands. That's essentially the game plan. He doesn't want to set stuff up. He doesn't want to have to win multiple rounds. He doesn't want to grab. He just wants, he should box. I don't know. I don't get why he doesn't do boxing.

He should box. Yeah. Now, let me ask you about the John Jones situation, because we've talked about this before Curtis, and you told me, you know, you had doubts whether he would actually fight a heavyweight. And I, I kind of disagree with you at the time because I was like, well, come on. He's already talking about. He's already doing it.

Here we said like a year later from that conversation, he still hasn't debuted. And he was tweeting, of course, all Saturday night, you know, as we kind of get used to John doing. And Michael Bisping said something on the post fight show. He said, stop tweeting and start fighting. And I understand Twitter's part of live. Social media is part of life. I get all that. That's just part of the business.

but we're two years removed from John's last fight. Now, maybe, again, I know he had a legal situation. That's all behind him now. But I don't know, like, are you kind of with the same mindset? Like, either fight or don't, but stop talking about it because I, listen, I understand the idea of getting John and giving him a title. He is the greatest light heavyweight of all time. There's no doubt about that.

If he wants to jump, if they gave him a title shot on day one, I can't argue with that, but do it or don't do it. Don't keep teasing it and then not do it. I don't know. It's almost like Henry S. He's always talking about. He's going to make a return. I would love to see Henry bump up and take on the folk off.

But if you're going to do it, let's do it. I like the longer you wait, the older you get, the slower you get, the less explosive you get. If you're going to do it, like, it's, he talked about it he did it it didn't work out for him but he did it like it's not that hard if you really want to do it's not that hard so i mean yeah i agree i would i would like that would help also with the projections like if i knew he was going to he was going to be fighting a heavyweight and then that means he's also like a factor potential opponent

but right now I don't know. Yeah, I already know the answer to the question because right now we are kind of in limbo a little bit. I assume you would be more than happy to welcome John to the division if he would actually take that fight. Yeah, but I don't, I think if he's going to do heavyweight, it's to make a statement, it's to go out to the belt. If I had the belt, obviously I would be the guy,

but I would do it, but I don't think he'd be interesting. shit of me. I'm just not the name, and I get it. It is what it is. Yeah, I just hope, like I said, through all, listen, I, again, I, I'm 100% in theory. Again, I don't know the terms. I don't know the deal again. I don't want to, you know, speak out of turn. But in theory, I'm on Francis's side in terms of saying, hey, he wants a better contract. He wants to, I get all that. I'm, I'm fine with that. But if they do end up doing the interim title, which again, knowing the UFC, I feel like we're going to probably talk about this like two months down the road and there's an interim title fight. But like, again, I think you and Steve-A makes a lot of sense.

But John being out there, once again, we're kind of like, what's going on? Like, I just want, I'm like you. I want clarity. Like, if it's going to be John and Steepa, then make the freaking fight so you can book another one. Or if it's going to be you and Steve-A, book the fight and let's move on. You know what I mean? Yeah. I think everyone wants the clarity.

It just helps. Like, even the fans, they like to project and like, okay, if he wins, then he'll fight him. them, then everyone likes to do that. It's hard to do that with all this unknown. Yeah. Now, you said before, you know, you don't know who you're going to fight next. We all know. And again, I think there's only a couple options out there for you that really makes

sense, to be honest. Again, Steepay, maybe gone, John Jones, you know, again, a couple guys out there that will be available for you. In terms of timing, though, I know you're not a guy who wants to sit and wait forever. So how soon would you like to fight? I mean, you come off a pretty dominant win in your last fight. how soon would you like to fight again, ideally? Right now, by April, that would be nice,

but I'm at a different point in my life where, like, the fights and who I fight, it matters. It could be like life-altered decisions. So I'm not just going to take just anybody just because, like, oh, I haven't had one in a while, so I'll fight the number eight guy. No.

I'm not doing that. So if it, however long it takes to get me a top four opponent, that's how long I wait. Yeah. Is there, I talked about the John Jones situation. Is there any maybe a little bit of frustration with the Steve Bay situation? You know, he lost to Francis. He wanted his rematch. He wanted his trilogy.

And again, I understand that. They're split one, one. The UFC seems to love booking automatic rematches these days. But now, you know, we haven't really heard. Is he going to fight again? Like, is he going to wait? What's going on? Like, again, does Steve-Bay kind of fall a little bit into the John Jones category now

where it's kind of like figure out what you're doing? Or do you just kind of ignore him and pretend he's not there? He's earned it. In this division, he's earned it. I think he's the goat of the heavyweight division. I think he's the best. He's earned it. Like, if he wants to wait, which is what he's been doing,

because I thought he should have, it should have been him versus Engano again. but if he wants to wait until June or until July, he can do that. He's earned it. I mean, I wouldn't, I'm not, I'm not average capable of him to wait, but if he wants to wait or if he wants to negotiate, and that's how long it ends up taking,

he's earned that. I'm not going to get angry at him for that, yeah. He's, uh, I agree in theory. I do. You will not find a bigger Stepe fan than myself. I'm an Ohio guy, of course. I love Stepey. But the only downside is something you mentioned before with other guys.

I think Stepey just turned 40. You know what I mean? Like the clock is ticking, you know, it'll be a year in March since he fought. And listen, I'm not faulting him for, again, maybe the UFC did do him dirty by not just giving them the rematch when, you know, it seemed like they give everyone else rematches. But that's the only, that's my bigger concern is the same. in the hourglass, you know what I mean? Like, once you hit that eight, like how much, you know what I mean?

Like how much, I think he's still in his prime, of course. But, you know, that does start to wear on you when he hit four. I mean, it's just a reality, you know what I mean? As, as Dana says, father time is undefeated. Well, also nothing was steeped. I think he really only wants to do one more because what else does he have to prove? He's already eating in Ghana. Even though he lost from Ghana, okay, it's headway.

You knocked me out. he beat in Ghana for five rounds. I think that's a lot more harder to do and more impressive. So I don't, I think he just wants to get that one more. It might be John. Like it might just be money fight,

which again, I don't blame him. He's earned a money fight. Yeah, it's funny, Curtis, you know, all of this, everything we're talking about does affect you. I mean,

you are right where you're at in the division. but one thing I've always said about you and I really do mean this as a compliment. You're one of the smartest guys in the division. Big part why I wanted you on today to talk about the fight in the situations because you're so intelligent your approach about this and I love that you approach it from that side because you know as well as I do,

there's going to be people who are going to be screaming and freaking out and saying, you know, drop the bell, don't drop the belt or John Jones's name calling or saying Steve A's holding up to do, whatever. You come at it from a very cerebral approach. You come at it from a very intelligent approach. Even though all these situations, it affect you. I love that you're realistic.

You've been that way for years. You've never, you've never, like, hit the panic button when any of these things happen. Like, you, you come in it from an angle where you say, I understand it. Yes, it can affect me, but I understand it. It's, I think it just comes from being a wrestler. Like, I just embrace the suck. Like, I don't enjoy it, but I also accept it.

It's out of my hands. And I'd rather just, like, be prepared for whatever happened. Yeah. So if they call you in the $30 million fight to Box Tyson Fury, will you put on the boxing gloves, I assume? Yes. I love it. Curtis, it is always a pleasure to catch up with you, my man. I really do appreciate it. Thank you for breaking everything down with me.

Hopefully next time we chat is when you got a fight booked and you're making your return to action. I hope everyone in the family, of course, as well, as well. hope you guys had a good holiday and thank you again for doing this i really do appreciate it problem and i always enjoy being on the show thank you talk to you soon all right sir you have a good day you too bye-bye there he is curtis blaze the uh the man who maybe maybe you know in line for an interim title shot hey i have a hard time believing the ufc's not going to like pull that trigger in the next like two to three months i mean listen we got to be honest they pulled the

when Francis was ready to fight a month later, do you think they're not going to pull the trigger with him in a contract dispute and saying, I'll just set out to December and let my contract run out? Come on now. I mean, they've booked cards up through like May. We know that they booked Glover Toshara and Yuri Prohashka for May. You're going to tell me June, July, July 2nd, International Fight Week. You're telling me they're not thinking about that already.

Come on. With that being said, now that we've talked to Curtis, let's go to another heavyweight that is actually. actually going to be fighting this weekend, a matter of days right now. He is going to be defending his Bellator heavyweight title against Valentin Moldowski, making his return to the heavyweight division.

We're going to talk to him about that. His future or not future at Light Heavyweight as well as a potential rematch with the great Fader Emilian Inka. Right now, let's talk to the Bellator heavyweight champion of the world, Ryan Bader. What's going on, buddy? How are you?

I'm doing well, feel good, living that heavyweight life, being happy throughout camp. It's nice and looking forward to getting back at heavyweight unifying this title and defending it, whatever you want to call it. Absolutely. Absolutely. Are you excited to fight at home? I mean, I know there's always an added pressure when you fight at home, but nowadays, with everything going on, the world that we're living in, good Lord, you never know when

you actually get a chance to fight certain places. So you've got to be excited for this. Yeah, you know, and I used to get excited for, you know, to go fight overseas, you know, fight in Germany, Japan, Australia, you know, now I'm getting excited just to fight here, you know, and Belator kind of has the places they rotate to, you know, and I'm not huge on the Connecticut fight, so to be able to not travel, bring all my stuff, you know, load up my truck, get down there with everything I need, my food, everything, and it's a lot of easier for sure. So that being said, too, I'm looking forward to, you know, last night didn't

go as planned his home. So looking forward to get a little redo and get a win here. Yeah. Let me talk about the Corey Anderson fight because, of course, you know, we all kind of look forward to that one. We knew it was a great match. I'd be a train with Corey. Listen, I think Corey's a monster. I've no absolutely, you know, absolutely the most respect, but I didn't see the fight playing out the way I didn't. I know you did neither, of course, but kind of give me your thoughts of it was so quick, so rapid fire,

but kind of give me your thoughts on, like, that night and what went wrong? Yeah, I mean, that's it. You know, the hardest part of,

you know, takeaway from that is, is walking away and be like, man, I didn't get to show anything. You didn't get to fight, basically, you know,

and, you know, kudos to him, went out there and, and looking back, watching, you know, I talked to him

after the fight, too, and looking back, um, watching video. You know, he was looking for something. You know,

But I heard as coaches, you know, in the first couple, you know, probably 20 seconds, you know, saying, hey, you know, it's there, it's not there, whatever. So I knew they were looking for something. And they were just trying to come over my jab because you do that kind of overhand right with his head off line and left hook. He threw that twice, you know, and I came in and hit me right behind the ear. Your body just kind of, you know, you can't control your body. I was conscious all the time, but your brain is that. You're telling your body to do something. It's not responding, you know.

it's just one of those things you know it's mixed martial arts you know i've had 35 plus fights and in with the best and sometimes you know that happens he did a good job his coach just did a good job on on reading and coming up with a plan to to you know if they saw something they were going to capitalize on that and they did yeah you know unfortunately kind of the downside of our sport you know this ryan is that you know we're all very reactionary you know what i mean like you know when one guy wins one fight he's the greatest thing ever he loses one fight suddenly he's a bum and why is he at the top of the sport that's just unfortunately the sport we live in but the one question it came out of your fight because you've never been a guy yes you you've suffered tk a losses that happens we

understand that but you've never been a guy to ever really get tagged with just like a single shot and go dead that's just not you know you've always had like a really good chin that that's just part of it now people immediately say oh did bader lose a step is he somehow and my question is this i don't think you lost stepped at all but here's the question i do have have, and this is just being honest, bouncing up and down, going from heavyweight to light, heavyweight, you're exhausting your body and your brain. We know that's part of it. When you dehydrogen your brain, we've seen it a thousand times guys get tagged and get hurt

in fights that they've never been hurt before. So honestly, was there any part of that in your head thinking, man, this up and down stuff at heavyweight and light, did it catch up to you? Yeah, for sure. While you're doing it, you put that out of your mind, right? And you're like, I feel good. I'm good. You know, even though you just cut, you cut deep.

dieted it down and then you cut 20 pounds of water after you dieted it down, right? And give yourself 24 hours to think that you're fully hydrated and, you know, your body needs everything it needs, you know, and, you know, and as I'm 38 now, as you get older to, I'm after that fight, I kind of looked at it like, you know, man, you know, I feel great at heavy weight. I feel great to be training camp. You know, I feel great taking shot, whatever it is. Whereas 205, last couple times. I'm just like, in my head, I say it's fine, you know, but I don't think my body is, uh, bouncing back like you used to on those weight cuts and everything. And granted, I've done it since I was, you know, in high school, you know, so the unpredictability of bouncing in between two weight classes,

you know, being being big and strong at end fast at heavy weight and then having to come and cut down and deplete your body, not just in the fight, but throughout training. camp. You know, it's not, it's not conducive for, you know, sending yourself up for the best success. So I've always been happy throughout these heavyweight training camps, spite week. I feel good. I feel strong, you know, and fast. And so, um, and after I lost my title of 205 is one of those things where I was kind of like, all right, I'm going to concentrate on heavyweight now, you know, but obviously they came

with that light heavyweight tournament. Um, and I was kind of like, you know, what the hell? You know, might have. as well. Something cool to do. That's why I got in, you know, came over to Bell Tour, like the heavyweight tournament, all that. So, um, there's opportunities on the table to become two division champion again and win another Grand Prix. Why not? You know, but I'm just happy to be now stable at heavyweight and moving forward. I, I know part of this sport is never say never, because that's just part of it. I can't say all. It's like me saying, you'll never fight the EOC again. I know chances are you probably won't. You'll probably stick with it.

with Belleter, you'd be very happy with them, but you never say never, but knowing what you went through, and I know from when you fought, when you fought, uh, when you, when you went down to 205 again for the first time, fought Nimcoff, what a brutal weight cut that was, you know, going through that again, would you say that your days that light heavyweight are numbered? I don't want to say they're over, but would you say like you don't really want to go through that again? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I would.

I, you know, why? I feel great at heavy weight. I feel like, uh, you know, I'm faster. I've always been just as strong, you know, and, you know, my cardio is a weapon at that weight. And so, you know, for me, it's like, what are the benefits? You know, the benefit for going down, you know, these last couple fights was, all right, you have the potential to win another Grand Prix, you know, win the prize money, all that kind of stuff. And so it had its benefits.

But now, you know, what's the point? Why? Yeah. So are you in your head saying I'm a heavyweight now forever? I mean, pretty much for now. I mean, you never know if some opportunity comes around and, you know, it makes sense. But it definitely has to, you know, for me it has to have, you know, a benefit to it. Like, why not just fight another heavyweight?

You know, because as far as am I going to go down to 205 and have an immediate title shot, you know, that could be a benefit. But, you know, I don't see that happening right away, you know, so what's the point? know, why not stick to heavyweight. You know, my body feels good here, like I said. It takes some time, you know, to, you know, establish yourself as a heavyweight as far as, you know, training in the, in your heavyweight body, you know, and keeping your speed, you're keeping your, you know, getting stronger, all that kind of stuff and getting used to that heavy weight body, you know, because that's a big difference, you know, fighting that

from 205, getting your body on 205 to be consistently at 235 to 37. Yeah, that's a big difference. I think that's one of the thing that gets lost to this conversation, Ryan, is like, you look at a guy like, let's say, in the UFC or in Belletton, you look at a guy at Charles Zolavera going from featherweight to lightweight, or a guy like Patricia Pitbull, go from featherweight to light weight. That's 10 pounds. Now, it's not to say that doesn't make a big difference,

but you're going from 205 and fighting it to 25 to 30. That's a big weight difference in terms of taking your body up and then trying to drain it back down again and to do it multiple times. I mean, that's the reason why we typically. I don't see that. You heard it. I remember when Daniel Corbier went up to heavyweight, like he pretty much was like, I'm done final heavyweight. Like that's it. I'm not doing that kind of getting because it is once you get your body acclimated to heavyweight, you're walking around at 225, 2.30 and you're feeling good. In your head, you're like, I got to cut 30 pounds.

Like that's a miserable experience. Yeah. You know, and I was too, I'm right probably 235 right now. You know, I was consistently 237 to even 240, you know, throughout this camp, feeling great and feeling facts, you know. And I wouldn't let myself get up that big unless I was performing the way I want to perform. And my quickness was there and it was there. And I'm like, all right, perfect. Like, you know, everybody's like, man, you're so strong right now, this and that. So, yeah, it just, it doesn't, I don't see the benefits of cutting down really anymore.

Unless something crazy comes up, you know, but it takes a while. You can't just crash diet it. And that's what I did, you know, NEMCO fight. And, I mean, looking at that video, I was like, it didn't even look like me. I was like, you know, I was cut and everything. And then when I rehydrated, it just kind of like, it stayed under my skin. It looked like or something. You know, I didn't look like I did two days before that, you know.

And so for me, it's just why, you know, I have the heavyweight belt. Why don't I just concentrate, you know, on this fight and this fights forward at heavyweight? Yeah. And we got to be honest. I mean, you being a heavyweight, and we've had this conversation before, most of the greatest heavyweighs in our sport are not these giant you know 265 pounds 6 foot 7 monsters most of those guys don't get to that level you look at a guy like a fado or a guy you beat one of the greatest

heavyways all the time he's your size or you know i mean he's not you know he's not that much bigger in terms of weight maybe but not like in terms of size uh daniel corman steppe miotich i mean look at him and one of the greatest seven ways all time he's not he's basically your size he's maybe a little bit taller he's not done his last fight yeah so like There's no need for it. No, and I think you're seeing a lot of these hybrid, you know, heavyweights come in and, you know, they can move. They have great technique.

The cardio is good, you know, and, you know, the one thing that you could say is, you know, you have a 285-pound guy coming down and, you know, strength could be a factor. Yeah, it could be for maybe a round or two, you know, but that endurance and everything else is going to catch up, you know. And so I'm going to, I think you're going to see a lot more of these hybrid heavyweeds, you know, just like Modowski, the guy I'm fighting, he's like 22, you know, a smaller headweight and doing obviously really well, you know, and so for me, it's, I was always like, okay, I want to go

up to heavyweight, you know, my old coach Aaron Simpson would always say, hey, you do great at heavyweight, but it was an unknown. I'm like, what happens if I run across one of these Brock Lesnar type of guys that are huge, you know? So getting in that tournament fighting guys like Matt Mitreone that are bigger, you know. Congo is not weight-wise huge, but, you know, big, tall guy, big guy in general. It was good to get my feet wet and say, okay, I'm fine. Yeah, and dominant. I mean, dominated both fights.

I mean, against, I was going to bring up Mitreone is a good example. He's a big, physically big heavyweight. And you moved him around, like, no problem. You dominated that fight. And I imagine when you look at Moldowski, again, I was going to bring that up. He's six foot one, two-thirty. You know, you're probably going to be the bigger guy in the fight, honestly. So, you know, why?

you know why why why push yourself do that and there's big fights at heavyweight we can't ignore that everyone loves heavyweight fights that's just who we are as as people we love heavyweight boxing we love heavyweight mma there's other big opportunities out there for you at heavyweight yeah you know and there's a couple guys that are at the top right now would be rematches you know um lynn visell obviously fadour you know fadour said he wanted to rematch and um you know those are those are fun fights you know and and um you know the new guys guys always coming up, you know, so for me, it's like, you know, I'm staying here and enjoy the process. And the biggest thing for me is having fun in training camp, you know, when you're cutting out of

205 and, you know, and I have my meal prep service and I can eat my little deal and, and that's it. And I got to go train the same way and deplete myself every day. It's not a fun time. And I don't enjoy the process where a heavyweight, I'm enjoying this process. I'm having fun. fight week. I'm having fun. I'm not worried about, all right, you know, Wednesday, Thursday, I got to go cut 20 pounds of water. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. You mentioned Fador. Let me, let me ask you about him real quick before we get to Moldowski because I know that Fadour has said

he would like his final fight in his career to be against you. Now, listen, I remember talking to you during the Grand Prix, and when you got in the Grand Prix, we laid out like the ideal scenario, and it pretty much played out like that. You said, I'd love to fight Fador in the finals because Fador is a legend, greatest heavyweight of all time. It would mean a lot. Well, you did. You went out there and knocked him out in under two minutes, whatever it was, and dominant fight became champion. I know you have a lot of respect for Fador and everything he's done in his career. But do you have interest in actually running it back with him?

Only because, I mean, I guess my question would be, how do you top that? Like, how do you do you do better than what you did the first time? As much as you hold reverence for Fador Emilian Inko, do you get as much out of it as, let's say, him getting a chance to like avenging a loss and his final fight. Yeah, yeah, I love Fador. I think he's a great competitor, great person too. You have nothing but great things or interactions with him, you know. But yeah, on your line of thinking, it's kind of the same way.

You know, I knocked him out in, what, 36 seconds, you know, in the Grand Prix, you know, finals for the headway championship. It can't get any better than that, you know. And so will I fight him? Yeah, I mean, you know, if it makes sense, you know, and, you definitely go into that fight to lose-lose situation. You beat him. Well, yeah, you already beat him.

You're supposed to beat him. You know, you lose. You lost to him in Moscow as final fight. You know, it's always a big fight with Fador and stuff like that. But we'll see. We'll get with Belator and, you know, see what we can do to make it a little win for me, you know, to go to Moscow to fight Fadour, you know, in Russia, all that kind of stuff, you know. And there's always an upside somewhere.

You just need to find that. Yeah. Add an extra zero to the paycheck. Maybe that will, you know. Listen, if you're traveling to freaking Moscow, if I fade or in his hometown, his home place and all that kind of stuff, and you're giving him a chance in his final fight, I'd be like, just adding extra zero to that paycheck and then we can start talking. So I'm talking around him, but that's exactly what I'm talking about. I mean, come on. Like I said, you got to get paid, right?

Like, that's a big fight for him. What are you getting out of it? Well, if I get a big paycheck, at least I'm getting that, right? exactly you know that that's a one win out of that situation you know and it's a big fight regardless you know and that being his final fight you can get a lot of eyeballs and anything so um yeah it would be fun but let's make it make sense yeah well you said that you know the potential rematches here you mentioned lyn vassel also we can't ignore i mean i talked to core anderson after you guys fought and he said listen i might go to heavyweight you know he's not a guy

who you know enjoys a giant weight cut down to 205 either so he's talked about that i'm sure you would to avenge that. And of course, I don't know his issues. He's got some health issues going on, but Anthony Johnson is out there. I know he said he's going to fight a light heavyweight, but again, same kind of thing. We've seen him fight a heavyweight. That's a big fight. I'm sure you wouldn't mind getting that one back, and that's a potential fight of heavyweight as well. 100%. You know, that's what's great about Bellator. They're pretty lax about, you know, allowing us to kind of jump around and do different things. Like, hey, can I fight a heavyweight? You know, can I do this? You want to do this Grand Prix, you know, et cetera.

So, yeah, that's a good point. I haven't really thought about that. You know, I didn't know those guys were interested. But you know me, I love to get losses back and, you know, and be welcome for sure. Yeah, absolutely. So let me ask you about Modowski because he's kind of a guy who's come up through the ranks in Bellator. And more recently, of course, got the interim title. We kind of saw that coming, of course, with the Grand Prix going on that it was going to happen.

You look at his wins. You know, good record. Vassel by decision, Jave Gala, Jovella, Roy Nelson and Tim Johnson, all good wins. All by decision, though. He's the Sandoz guy from Russia. Was this guy on your radar, or did he kind of get on your radar maybe after like the Tim Johnson fight? Yeah, he was on my radar when he fought big country, you know, because we fought him

that same card. And, you know, he had a little hype behind him. So it was kind of, you know, paying attention to him a little bit. And then, you know, from then on now, you know, like you said, he's he's undefeated in Belator. You know, he hasn't fought the guys I fought. You know, he doesn't have the experience that I have. You know, he is one stoppage was a guy that was like one and two, you know, his first fight in Belator. You know, that being said, you know, he's a good fighter.

He's durable, you know, strong, good striker, depression. and looking at this fight, like you're looking at it, you know, on paper and everything, I see a lot of ways to win. And it's just, I'm excited to actually, you know, motivated to come back to head and head,

and belt on the line against a guy like this for sure. Yeah. When I look at him, and it sounds like I'm insulting him, I promise you I'm not, but he's not a guy who wows me anywhere. Like, I don't look at him and say, oh, man, you got to deal with this guy's wrestling.

Oh, man, this guy's got incredible power. this guy's jihadist or whatever none of that now that's not to mean he's good because you don't win against the guys he's beaten and not be good but yeah does that feel like you do have advantage like when you look at what ryan bader does well we think about huge knockout power in your hands you've shown that you're incredible wrestling we've seen that time and time again your cardio all these kind of things that you have like he's kind of a good jack of all trades but you can't really look at modovsky's oh man you got to really worry about this guy in this one area he's just you just you know he's just kind of solid everywhere

Yeah, I know I agree. You know, it's, uh, he's, he's good everywhere. He's not, you know, exceptional in one area, you know, and, um, I, I really, I haven't fought. I fought one guy that he's fought, you know, so that's how I like to gauge, you know, these guys is like, all right, do we have a similar opponent, you know, and that would be Linton Vassel, you know, and watching that fight, you know, Lent Vassel went out there, you know, I thought in the first couple rounds and, you know, halfway through the second, you know, started to turn a little bit, but, you know, dominated him, took him down. You know, he got swept here and there, but Lynn was doing a really good job, you know,

and Moldowski really doesn't do too much off his back. He kind of waits there, sits there, and waits for that opportunity to kind of do a big explosion and see if he can sweep you and roll you over from there. You know, and he's, his striking's basic but good, you know, and, you know, he's good of controlling that, you know, that, you know, the grappling against the fence, you know, and, you know, I believe he's going to be strong. He's got low center gravity. Looks like he has strong hips, you know, but I'm good in all those places. And, and that's one thing I'm kind of taking into this fight, you know, everywhere we go, I feel like I can beat him in that, in that aspect.

Yeah. And with that being said, I mean, listen, I know it's so generic to say this, but it's true, you have something to prove in every fight. There's no doubt about that. But coming off a loss and just kind of like not looking like yourself in a couple of those fights through the Dimcov fight. And again, no shame in getting caught by coroner's. It just happens. That's the nature of the beast.

But do you feel like there is some? Because you are, you have been a dominant heavyweight. You know, you have been undefeated at heavyweight. I mean, again, not to say you're ever making excuses for, but is there a little bit more to prove in a fight like this? Yeah. I'm just, you know, especially coming off some losses in, you know, a quick loss, your last fight.

that wasn't too long ago, you know, you want to get right back in there and you want to, you know, prove to everybody, especially the hometown crowd, like, hey, you know, this is a real me, you know, here we go. It's mixed martial arts is going to happen. But I'm looking forward to going there and getting back to, you know, the fighter that I know I am and getting on that gas puddle right away, you know, and keeping that on them the whole time. You know, like I said, my cardio is a weapon. I'm feeling great this camp,

and I have the ability to do that the whole five rounds. You know, and so I'm excited. I'm motivated, excited, you know, and half of that comes with not having to cut weight and go down there, the 205. And obviously, you know, at the end of this fight, you get a win, unify the title, and there's a belt around your way, too.

And I haven't been in, you know, a fight like that in quite a while. You know, it's been a little while since it's been back at heavyweight, so I'm excited for that. Yeah. You know, you've done a lot in your career, Ryan, already. When you think about all the accomplishments you had in the UFC and then what you've done in Bellator, two-division champion, all these kind of things. But now that you're back at heavyweight defending your title, how important is legacy to you in terms of adding those kind of monumental things to your record? Because you have done so much, and you've already kind of defined your career in terms of all the things you've done. Again, the rarity of becoming a two-division champion, there's like five guys, you know,

the sport who have ever done that at this level, Belletor and UFC combined. You know, there's a very, so you've already done a lot. But now that you are back in heavyweight and it sounds like you're going to stay at heavyweight, is there like a chance to like really add on to your legacy here with some of these big fights? Again, I don't want to look past Bodowski because he is super tough. But if you get past him, we talk about, you know, maybe if you do go to Russia or,

you know, the Anthony Johnson fight, whatever it is. Like, do you feel like, is that important? Does that even matter to you? Not really. I mean, I felt like, like you said, you know, I've done some cool things in that legacy. is there. And I'm not huge. I don't, I don't need a legacy, you know, for myself, you know, but, you know, if I, looking back on my, on my career, regardless of what happens in the future here, if I go on and do bigger and better things, you know, you know, that, that moment beating Fador

become a two division champion, I don't think I'm ever going to top that, you know, and just the way the opportunity presented itself and everything. But I'm a competitor. And I've always, and I've always kind of was a guy that's like, all right, it's just this fight right here, you know, right in front of you, and that's it. You go out there and win. And even like having the belt and the title defenses, you know, if you're on the other side, you're fighting for the title. This is it.

This is my whole deal. You know, this is what I've worked for. You know, how in the belt? I kind of just approached you like any other fight. All right. Let's go out there and do what we do. And it's been good for me, you know, for the most part. Um, do I want to go out and, you know, um,

win five more heavyweight title defenses, hell yeah, I do. You know, and it's kind of, it's, my career has got simplified, you know, with just being at one weight class, whereas, all right, go out win this fight, and you retain the title. And you're not worried about, all right, I'm going down and competing in a tournament and have the heavyweight belt and all that kind of stuff. And so that's my plan. There's big fights on the horizon and go out there, obviously get through Moldowski, you know,

Fador's waiting, I was retiring, fight. You know, other guys are in the wings. There's guys a 205 want to come up. So, yeah, I mean, there's a lot of things to be done. Yeah. You mentioned when you're at heavyweight, you're a happier Ryan Bader. You know what else we get when we get a happier Ryan Bader is we get the best Instagram account in all the mixed martial arts. I tell you this all the time. Your Instagram account continuously cracks me up because I know a lot of times when fighters post, and we talked about this last time you're on, about like when fighters post this training stuff, I get a training, you know, sponsors, things like that.

But like whenever you have Instagram stories, I'm like, I got to click on Ryan's Instagram stories because I know I'm going to crack up laughing. And I imagine a happy Ryan Bader resulted in more Instagram posts. Yeah, I don't post too many out of my bank because I don't want to get my, get myself deleted, you know, because you do have sponsors. And I'm the same way, man. I even like, I don't want to post another training picture, you know, but you have to. You know, that's what you're there for and this.

So my stories are usually key for those. a, you know, banable memes there. And I kind of just make, you know, posted a few one time, you know, for a couple of days. I didn't. And people were reaching out, you know, where the hell are our memes, this and that, you know, so. And then you get you kind of messages like, hey, it's a highlight of my day.

And I'm kind of like, well, you need a new day. But the, yeah, started getting a bunch of those. So if I just make some people laugh, whatever, definitely. worth it. Now I got to ask because I also know you are the king of pranks. I know this from many, many Instagram posts over the years. You love to prank people, but I also know you tag your wife Daisy on a lot of your Instagram posts, which always cracked me up with some of the ones you put on there. She knows your sense of humor. Does she laugh or do you have you ever once gotten in trouble for something you've done on Instagram? Oh, no, she laughs. She posts worse than me, you know.

So yeah, we have a good relationship. We, you know, we joke around all the time. And, you know, she can take it, I can take it. So we have fun with it. It's hilarious. Some of those ones you tag her, I'm just like, oh, my God, I wish I could see her reaction right now. Now, we got to get back to some of the pranks, though. You are the master of pranks as well. And I haven't seen as many of this lately.

I got to get, you know, my brother-in-law, he's married, has a kid now, that kind of stuff. And so, you know, when I got to the point where I was like, what else can I do this dude? Besides, like, actually shoot him in the leg or something. because we kept helping it. They kept up in it and you're like, I can't go backwards, you know, so we'll get some more going or something for sure.

I think the airplane ones were my favorite. Yeah, that poor guy, man. That poor guy, man. He's fun to pick on for sure. Oh, that's hilarious. Yeah, the airplane ones were always good because I'm like, you can't get off the plane. You can't do anything here.

You got to do whatever you deal with. So there's no escaping this particular. Well, right, I always appreciate taking the time. and catch it up, man. Obviously, I know training camp is almost wrapped up at this point, but I appreciate taking the time, as always. Look forward to seeing heavyweight Bader again, and best luck in the title defense, and I'm sure we'll catch him afterwards. I appreciate it, my man. All right, talk to you soon. We'll see you, buddy. I want to say a big thank you once again to both of our guests this week,

Curtis Blades, and Ryan Bader, and make sure you check us out each and every week on the fighter versus the writer on all of your favorite podcast platforms, Apple Podcast, Spotify, and of course you can always check us out over on mmafiting.com. We will be back next week with another edition of the Fighter versus the Rider. Thanks for tuning in, and we will see you then. Podcast Network.