"Man in the Arena or some sh*t" - Ryan Bader releases statement after brutal 21-second knockout loss to Renan Ferreira at PFL vs. Bellator

Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader issued a statement on social media following his loss to PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira.

Bader squared off against Ferreira in the main event of the historic PFL vs. Bellator card, with the winner earning a fight against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The event took place on Feb. 24, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and super fights between Bellator and PFL champions were the highlight of the card.

Ferreira (13-3) knocked down Bader (31-8) with a right hand before finishing the fight with hammer fists on the ground in just 21 seconds. It was his fourth consecutive knockout victory, with three coming in the first round.

Watch the knockout below:

Bader shared a post-fight statement on Instagram after his defeat, captioning the post:

''All good here. Been on the other side of it countless times. If you’ve been in this crazy a** sport for as long as I have you’re bound to have a few of those. Heads held high, have a ton of people that love me and can’t wait to get home and see em. Man in the Arena or some sh*t. Huge thanks and love to these dudes that ride with me no matter what. Can’t thank you guys enough @jairlourencokimura @montanhamma @jasonkamens @cgruler.''

Prior to his loss, Bader competed at Bellator 290 last February, where he earned a first-round TKO win over Fedor Emelianenko.

Bader was scheduled to defend his title against Linton Vassell at the historic Bellator 300 event in October last year, but Vassell was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an illness, which resulted in Bader being removed from the card as well.

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Ryan Bader's words of caution to Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou, who is currently preparing to fight Anthony Joshua in boxing on March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, stated on SportsCenter that he hopes to face either Ryan Bader or Renan Ferreira in the PFL later in 2024.

Earlier on Thursday, PFL announced on social media that 'The Predator' would be returning to mixed martial arts to face the winner of the aforementioned bout.

After the fight was announced, Bader told Mirror Fighting that he would be the worst opponent for Ngannou:

''I don't come into the fight with a lack of confidence, I think he's beatable. I think I can grind out a decision but it's an MMA fight so you never know. I could go in there and knock him out."