“Nobody knows what’s happening” - Ryan Bader eyes Francis Ngannou ‘payday’ amidst Bellator’s uncertain future

This weekend should’ve seen Bellator MMA’s heavyweight champion Ryan Bader defending his title against top contender Linton Vassell.

Unfortunately, things haven’t gone to plan for ‘Darth’, and now the former UFC light-heavyweight contender will not be competing at all.

This week saw the announcement that Vassell will not be able to compete at Bellator 300 due to an undisclosed illness.

More disappointingly for Ryan Bader, despite Corey Anderson – who beat ‘Darth’ in 2021 – offering to step in to face him, Bellator chose not to take this option.

Interestingly, Bader’s suggestion in a since-deleted comment on Instagram was that Bellator’s parent company, Viacom, wasn’t willing to pay to promote a fight between him and Anderson on late notice.

A deleted comment from @ryanbader on Instagram

Since then, the former UFC star has opened up on the state of play in Bellator further – and has discussed a potential fight with another heavyweight superstar.

In an interview with MMAFighting, Bader spoke about the potential for Bellator to be sold to a rival organization, with the current rumor being that the PFL is looking to purchase the ailing promotion.

‘Darth’ stated, “Really, nobody knows what’s happening, so what you can do, keep that on the outside and take care of your job”.

However, when the idea of the PFL purchase was mooted, ‘Darth’ immediately claimed that he’d be interested in a bout with former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou.

‘The Predator’ signed with the PFL earlier this year and is expected to make his debut with them in 2024.

Bader had the following to say on the subject:

“Yeah, 100% you know, like you said, you go in there and he has a minimum, you know, anybody that fights him gets $2m, and if you go in there as a champion and negotiate your terms too...you know, that’s a nice little payday, and something that you work towards...so stuff like that’s definitely on the line, so maybe this is happening at the right time for the right reason.”

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Ryan Bader Bellator: How much is ‘Darth’ paid by the UFC’s rival promotion?

Ryan Bader has been one of Bellator’s biggest and most successful stars ever since he moved to the promotion from the UFC in 2016.

How much does ‘Darth’ make for his wins inside the Bellator cage, though? It’s a question that has been asked by numerous observers since his debut, but it came to light further after his bout with the legendary Fedor Emelianenko earlier this year.

According to some reports, ‘Darth’ made a reported $150k for the fight. However, in a later appearance on The MMA Hour, Ryan Bader claimed this report was false and that he was actually making “eight or nine times more” than he did in the UFC.