Bellator heavyweight champ Ryan Bader is about to face MMA royalty. When he steps into the shark tank opposite Fedor Emelianenko, it won’t be for the first time, but even Bader, who defeated Emelianenko in their last bout, concedes that Emelianenko is probably the greatest heavyweight to ever do it.
“Even that first fight, I still had that, ‘Holy s***, that’s Fedor. I’m about to fight Fedor.’ They did the National Anthem, they did the Russian anthem, so I had time to think before the fight, it was a little longer than usual. But I just kept telling myself, ‘It’s just another guy. I’ve been in there against everybody. I’ve fought the who’s who of MMA. I’ve stood across from legends and up and comers and everybody.’ It doesn’t really phase me like that anymore, but Fedor was the one guy where I was like, ‘Here we go!’ It was kind of surreal.
Ryan Bader: Emelianenko is Heavyweight GOAT, but Cain Velasquez Could Be
I think being in there prior with him, that part has kind of worn off. Been there, done that. I’ve stood across from him before the fight and went in there and did my job. This fight, I think it’s going to be even less.”
Bader did point out, however, that he feels there’s another, often under-discussed name in the heavyweight GOAT conversation. That’s Cain Velasquez, who Bader believes was waylaid by injury, but had all the tools necessary to match Emelianenko’s resume.
“I would say Cain Velasquez [was the best] when he’s healthy, but the only problem is Cain couldn’t stay healthy for so long and didn’t have the résumé and the fights that Fedor did. I would say Cain could go out there and be the best heavyweight of all-time.
If you’re going to put a label on somebody, I would say Fedor would be [the one]. He didn’t come over to the UFC but it’s not taking anything away from him. He built a legacy. He fought those guys [in Japan], beat a lot of those guys. But if you were to put [on a fight] on their best night, Fedor versus Cain, I’m going to take Cain.
I think he’s one of the best of all-time. We were fortunate enough to see that in a lot of his fights. His injuries, it’s just part of the sport, but he was an animal. He always had that drive.”
Who do you believe is the greatest heavyweight of all time? Let us know in the comments.
