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Ryan Bader on cusp of title shot … maybe

There are few fighters who have been in the UFC for as long as Ryan Bader – he passed his seven-year anniversary in December – without fighting for a championship.

Some of it was his own doing, critical losses at the wrong time. In 2011, when Rashad Evans pulled out of a light heavyweight title fight with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua because of injury, the UFC tabbed the winner of the Jon Jones-Bader fight as Evans' replacement.

Jones submitted Bader and was given that shot.

But Bader has also had his share of misfortune. He was scheduled to fight Daniel Cormier, now the UFC champion, last June, but the bout was scrapped when Jones was stripped of his title in April after being involved in a hit-and-run car accident.

The UFC gave Cormier the shot for the belt against Anthony Johnson at UFC 187, which Cormier won by third-round submission. Had Bader had the chance to fight, and defeat, a respected opponent like Cormier, chances are, he'd have had his shot.

But as it stands, Bader is seven years and counting with no title shot. That puts him in the company with the likes of Michael Bisping, Joe Lauzon and Gleison Tibau, who have all been in the UFC more than nine years continuously and have yet to fight for a championship.

If Bader defeats Johnson on Saturday in the main event of a Fox-televised card from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., he may finally get his chance.

Ryan Bader is currently riding a five fight winning streak. (AP)
Ryan Bader is currently riding a five fight winning streak. (AP)

Cormier is going to defend his belt against Jones in April, and it seems likely, though it is not guaranteed, that Bader would face the winner if he gets past Johnson.

Bader, though, has been disappointed too many times to get his hopes up. Cormier's first defense came in October at UFC 192 against Alexander Gustafsson, who was coming off a first-round knockout loss to Johnson at the same time Bader was on a four-fight winning streak.

Bader beat Evans on the 192 undercard to stretch his streak to five in a row.

"I don't know who else it could be if not me, but crazier things could happen," Bader said of whether he'll get a shot at the belt if he beats Johnson. "When Gus got the shot after he'd been knocked out, I'll be honest, I was feeling pretty down and sorry for myself.

"But it helped me from the standpoint I realized that picking who fights for the title is out of my control and I just have to worry about controlling what I can."

Bader nearly lost control at the UFC 187 post-fight news conference. Cormier was holding court after submitting Johnson and winning the belt, and Bader was standing behind the media observing.

As Cormier was discussing how hard Johnson had hit him and defending the validity of his championship despite the fact he hadn't beaten Jones, a voice at the back of the room began to shout at him.

Cormier's attention was suddenly diverted to Bader, and the scene that ensued was something straight out of the WWE.

"There's somebody else who needs his [expletive] kicked, too, and I think he's around here," Cormier said. "That's Ryan Bader's [expletive]. I'm going to beat the [expletive] out of him next time. You keep talking Bader. Keep talking, Bader. Keep talking. This guy is so disrespectful. I'm trying to fight Anthony Johnson and Ryan Bader is writing me stupid messages on Twitter because he wants people to think he deserves a title shot."

But it really erupted when Bader angrily mentioned Cormier pulling out of their scheduled bout in New Orleans.

No one who understood the facts blamed Cormier, because instead of fighting a match with no implications, he was getting a shot to fight for the world title.

The loss of that opportunity gnawed at Bader. So, too, had Cormier's taunts throughout their press tour to promote their ill-fated bout in New Orleans. And so when Bader shouted from the back of the room about wanting to fight Cormier, Cormier took the taunts to another level.

"Not once did I say I didn't want to fight Ryan Bader," Cormier said. "I asked them to fight you because I just want an easy paycheck. I knew I wanted to fight you. I asked to fight you multiple times, Bader. Bader, come on. I asked to fight you. They said, 'Daniel, what do you want?' I said, 'I want the easiest fight in the division. I want Ryan Bader.' "

At that point, Bader approached the dais, only to be restrained by an MGM Grand security guard and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva.

Though Bader was plenty angry, and to the uninitiated it looked like a staged segment to promote a future fight, it in some ways helped Bader.

That moment, and the UFC's decision to pair Cormier and Gustafsson, caused Bader to stop obsessing over the title.

"As an athlete my entire life, one of the things that's been instilled in me is this desire to be the best, and to test myself against the best," he said. "And you tend to equate that with the championship. I've been going out there and fighting the best I can get. My last four were in the Top 10 and my last two were in the top five.

"This is a big fight for me on Saturday. If I beat this guy, it's a pretty significant win. But I just have to be ready to win no matter who it is."

Though Bader has a big right hand, don't expect to see a slugfest with Johnson. Bader, who was an All-American wrestler at Arizona State, said his plan is to use his advantages to their fullest.

Though Johnson has a wrestling background as well, that appears to mean that Bader would like to get the fight to the ground. Johnson is one of the hardest hitters in the sport and has exceptionally fast hands.

There aren't many, if any, fighters who could win a toe-to-toe shootout with Johnson.

"Winning is all that is on my mind, and whatever I need to do to win, I'll do," Bader said. "I don't want to impress anybody or try to put on a show. Bottom line, this is an extremely important fight for me and it's a fight I need to win."

If he does, he might remove his name from that list that nobody wants to be on: The longest tenured fighters in the UFC without a title shot.

Bader knows as well as anyone that nothing is guaranteed, but if he beats Johnson to win his sixth in a row, it would be all but impossible to deny him his claim.