UFC
UFC 144: Ryan Bader not going to just stand and trade punches with "Rampage" Jackson in Japan
Feb 22, 2012 - 7:30:48 PM UFC 144: Ryan Bader not going to just stand and trade punches with "Rampage" Jackson in Japan

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

After successive losses to Jon Jones and Tito Ortiz in 2011, Ryan Bader was in need of a big performance to turn things around. He got just that at UFC 139 when he knocked out Jason Brilz in 1:17.

Now, he's the benefactor of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's impatience, as he will get an immediate chance to bounce back up into the top end of the division should he pick up a win in Japan at UFC 144.

"My first thought when the UFC offered me Rampage was, 'absolutely,'" Bader said in a pre-fight interview for the UFC. "He fought over there, he's popular over there, but that doesn't matter to me. I relish [being] in the role of the underdog and going in there and beating somebody like Rampage; so if anything that's going to give me more motivation."

Jackson will surely be looking for a slugfest in order to appease his Japanese fanbase, but Bader knows that won't necessarily be the smartest strategy for him to play into.

"I'm going to be smart about it," Bader said about the fight. "I'm not just going to go out there and trade punches with Rampage. I'm not afraid to go out there and strike with him, but I'm going to mix up every bit of my MMA training. I'm going to use some wrestling, I'm going to use some kicks, I'm going to use my boxing. If I go in there just trying to take him down, that's not going to work. I've got to mix up everything."

If he can do that in this fight, make Jackson fight to his strengths and pick up a win, it would mark perhaps the biggest victory in his career. He knows what the fight could mean for him, and he feels he's much better now than at any other point of his career. Saturday night, the goal is simply to beat Rampage Jackson.

"Beating Rampage would solidify my career, and put me up there with the upper echelon fighters of the division," Bader said. "I'm a way better fighter than I was coming through undefeated early in my career. I'm a ten times better fighter than I was. I don't care where it's at, if it's in Australia, Japan, the U.S.; I don't care, I just want to go out there and beat Rampage."

Penick's Analysis: Because Bader is more likely to utilize other parts of his skillset in this fight, know one should be sleeping on him into Saturday night. Jackson hasn't been at his best over the last couple of years, and though Bader's loss to Ortiz sticks out terribly, this is a sport where anything can happen. The Jon Jones fight can't be held against him, as Jones went on to do worse to even more high profile fighters after beating Bader. If he can take out Rampage, it would be a huge, huge statement for him in getting back to the top end of the division, and it certainly wouldn't be the craziest thing to happen in the world of MMA should he do just that.