Bellator 207: Light Heavyweight Champ Ryan Bader dominates Matt Mitrione, advances to the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix Finals

It goes without saying that Ryan Bader is shocking the world every single time he enters the Bellator cage. The current Light Heavyweight Champion, Bader is making the case for the fastest-rising heavyweight in the history of the company. With a dominant unanimous decision win (30-25, 30-24, 30-25) over friend and heavyweight veteran Matt Mitrione at Bellator 207, “Darth” Bader is heading to the Heavyweight Grand Prix finals.

Bader (26-5) jumped at Mitrione (13-6) right from the get-go, using his wrestling offense to drop the man who had over a 25+ pound difference over him leading up to the fight. Mitrione tried to lift himself up but to no avail.

The second round was more of the same. Mitrione did try and start off strong but missed several key shots that would have stunned Bader if they connected. At one point Bader had Mitrione in an inverted kimura lock, and it appeared that the latter tapped, but the referee kept the fight going.

As boo’s reigned down over the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville Connecticut, Bader kept on holding Mitrione onto the floor, giving him no momentum throughout the third and final round. After the first ten seconds of each round, Mitrione did nothing to help his cause.

Ryan Bader is a dangerous heavyweight, and this isn't even his weight class #Bellator207

— Daniel Yanofsky (@DanYanofsky) October 13, 2018

The outcome was almost similar to last week’s Khabib Nurmagomedov / Conor McGregor bout at UFC 229 in regards to wrestling ability. When asked about the crowd’s negative reaction to the fight, Bader didn’t seem to mind:

“I don’t care about those. That was a dominant performance against the number one heavyweight in Bellator. Going in there, it wasn’t a rock ’em, sock ’em fight. It was a ground mauler. I don’t really take too much to the boos.”

Bader, a winner of six straight fights, was very open about not being hit once in this Grand Prix since it started. He knocked out “King Mo” at Bellator 199 before working around Mitrione. He looks to continue that momentum down the line.

Now, Bader will be waiting for the winner of tonight’s (October 13) fight between Chael Sonnen and Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 208. If he had his way, Fedor would win so he can face one of the most dominant heavyweights of all time. Already adapting to the scene, Bader’s momentum may just catapult him to the status of his dream opponent.