Ryan Bader, the former UFC contender who made a big splash by signing with Bellator MMA and winning the promotion’s light heavyweight and heavyweight titles, is moving on from the PFL.
Bader (31-8, 1NC), who signed with Bellator in 2017, and the PFL parted ways this week after coming to an amicable agreement, per a report by Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani.
The Professional Fighters League acquired Bellator in late 2023, picking up stars like Bader, Patricio Pitbull, and Cris Cyborg, among others. However, they’ve lost their grip on several, including Pitbull, now competing for the UFC, and Bader, whose future at age 41 is very much in question.
Others including Cyborg and Corey Anderson have been vocal about their lack of activity. Star featherweight Aaron Pico, now a free agent, has previously requested his outright release.
Bader competed just once under the PFL banner, at the PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions card in February of 2024, where he lost to his PFL heavyweight counterpart Renan Ferreira.
In a statement provided to Helwani, Bader’s manager, Dave Martin, stated that “Ryan had a great run at Bellator with every single fight being either a title fight or a fight in one of the Grand Prix tournaments. We appreciate Mike Kogan recognizing Ryan’s body of work and helping to facilitate a departure that Ryan was very happy with.”
Prior to his loss against Ferreira, Bader had defended his Bellator heavyweight championship against Fedor Emelianko, Cheick Kongo, and Valentin Moldavsky, setting the promotion’s heavyweight title defense record in the process.
“Darth” Bader claimed light heavyweight gold in his promotional debut at Bellator 180 in 2017, defeating fellow UFC ex-pat Phil Davis to do so. He defended that title once before losing the promotion’s 205lb title to Vadim Nemkov in 2020, though for a time he held both championships simultaneously.
