Don't Rush Ryan Bader

From The 3rd String Safety:

We’ve been talking a lot about MMA prospects lately and I think its time we make a certain distinction. Guys like Gian Villante, and Ricardo Romero we consider prospects because they are young, relatively new to MMA and aren’t signed by a major organization.

There seems to be a trend right now where people want to rush prospects along. I’m guilty of this. I pine for Romero and Villante to be in the UFC when in truth there’s no harm to them continuing to gain experience fighting in Ring Of Combat.

The rushing of prospects also happens in the UFC. Right now people are clamoring for Ryan Bader to start fighting top ten caliber opponents.  Even though Bader is no longer a UFC rookie, it doesn’t mean he isn’t a prospect and it doesn’t mean that he needs to automatically face elite competition.

Let’s compare Bader to other elite prospects. A guy like Cain Velasquez has answered every single question and he’s improved markedly from fight to fight. We saw his chin tested against Kongo, we saw him out box and KO a great boxer with an iron jaw in ‘Nog. We saw him grow, improve his weak spots.  The same hasn’t happened with Bader.  Against Eric Schafer we learned that Bader really needed to improve his boxing and cardio. Against Jardine we learned Bader really needed to improve his boxing and cardio.

The scouting report on Bader is the same fight to fight. He comes out like a house of fire, with explosive shots in round 1 and after that he tails off.  He looks to land a power overhand right and not much else. The Jardine fight played out the same way. He gassed after round 1 (his shots clearly lacked explosiveness in rounds 2 and 3), lost round 2 and KO’d Jardine in the 3rd.  Now it was a good victory, don’t get me wrong, but he didn’t really out-strike Jardine.  He KO’d Jardine with a left hook and he now he joins a long list of fighters to figure out Jardine’s weakness.

Bader is still a wrestler learning how to box and he has obvious power, with time his boxing should improve.  What’s worrisome is his cardio.  BJ Penn has talked about "not being that IV guy" during weigh-ins and Bader is the poster boy for being "that IV guy."  Is it weight cutting that zaps Baders gas tank? Is it a poor pre-fight training camp that hinders his cardio?

The obvious fight that people want is Bader Vs. the winner of Brandon Vera and Jon Jones. If Vera wins he’s the perfect opponent for Bader, a solid technical striker with great take-down defense. However, if Jones wins that matchup should be avoided at all costs. After the destruction of Matt Hammil it’s easy to speculate Jones would cut through Bader like a hot knife through butter. Why kill one prospect to push ahead another? Couldn’t this easily be avoided?

The other question is if Jones wins in impressive fashion is Bader even a step up in competition for Jones?

I’d rather see Bader fight someone like Vladimir Matyushenko, should he get through Elliot Marshall. It would be another small step up for Bader and it would give him more ring time to get his boxing and cardio in line.

Velasquez was a wrestler who became a very well rounded mixed martial artist.  Ryan Bader is a wrestler who is fighting in mixed martial arts.  That’s why Cain Velasquez is ready for a title shot and Ryan Bader is very far off.