Bader: I'm always '1 fight away' from a title shot
Ryan Bader has come as close as a fighter can to earning a title shot without actually getting one.
In his eight-year UFC career, Bader has fought five former or future world champions with varying degrees of success. The 33-year-old rematches Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on Saturday in Sao Paulo, and while that fight doesn't appear to have any immediate contender implications, Bader told the Brazilian media Tuesday that every win keeps him in range of the mountaintop.
"I'm right there, you know," Bader said, according to Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. "I'm ranked No. 4, but rankings don't really mean that much. I believe I'm one fight away at all times from getting a title shot and being up there. I'm one of the top guys. I have to beat one of those top three guys."
The last time Bader was on the cusp of a title shot, he was knocked out by Anthony Johnson, who will next face light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in December. It was the third time an opponent finished Bader and then moved on to challenge for UFC gold within their next two bouts.
Bader bounced back with a highlight-reel knockout of his own, blasting Ilir Latifi with a flying knee at UFC Fight Night 93 in Hamburg, Germany. He credited a more relaxed mindset with helping him to move on from missed opportunities.
"I got to a point I was so focused on getting a title shot all the thought in my head was to go out there and win at all costs," Bader said, "So maybe it made me fight a certain way, maybe take a lot of risks and stuff like that.
"To be able to have fun with it, I'm just kind of free out there. If I do that, fight to my potential, I have a better shot at winning than I am going out there with a sole purpose of just winning this fight."
Bader fights for the 20th time as a light heavyweight inside the Octagon when he meets Nogueira in the main event of UFC Fight Night 100. That number trails only UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz for the most appearances in company history at 205 pounds.