Bellator champion Ryan Bader wants to prove he's world's best light heavyweight as Jon Jones leaves division

With a few tweets earlier this week, Jon Jones created an opportunity for light heavyweight mixed martial artists around the world.

By announcing a move to heavyweight and relinquishing the UFC light heavyweight title, which he held on and off for nearly a decade, the question of which 205-pounder is the sport's best is open for the first time in recent memory.

One former Jones opponent won’t vie for the vacated title, but wants to fill the void left atop the division across all promotions: Ryan Bader.

The Bellator light heavyweight champion hasn’t fought at 205 pounds since November 2017 after entering the Bellator heavyweight grand prix and grabbing his second belt. Bader (27-5, 1 NC) now has a chance to prove not only that he can still do it at light heavyweight, but that he does it better than anyone else when he defends his original championship against Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 244 on Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

“Look at my resume, look at who I beat, look at my wins. If you go through that and look at how much I’ve grown these last three or four years, I haven’t lost in I think the last four years,” said Bader, whose last loss came against Anthony Johnson in January 2016 while still in the UFC.

Six fights (5-0, 1 NC) and two championships into his Bellator career — which includes wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Phil Davis and Matt Mitrione — Bader defended the level of competition he’s faced since signing in 2017.

“It’s not like I’m fighting bums out here, I’m fighting the best competition out there, and I’d been a perennial top five guy in the UFC before I left,” Bader said. “I’ve grown so much since then, I’m leaps and bounds than I was five years ago, better than I was a year ago and it’s ongoing.”

Bader even said he believes the winner of his fight with Nemkov (11-2) would be the world’s best light heavyweight.

“How can you not? We’ve both proven ourselves, I know he’s more inexperienced a little but he’s still had 13, 14 fights,” Bader said. “I’ve been there, done that. I’m a double champ. I’ve fought in both organizations. I’m 13-1 in my last 14 fights with one no contest, which is what it is. So how can you not say that?”

A few UFC 205ers likely disagree, namely previous Jones opponents Dominick Reyes and Thiago Santos. But Nemkov, a touted protégé of Emelianenko, obviously agreed with his foe Friday.

"I think so, I feel like between me and Ryan Bader we've beaten a lot of top competition in our careers,” Nemkov said through a translator. “And this fight should be viewed on a more global level of MMA, not just [Bellator], and the winner should be considered No. 1."

Bader of course needs to prove he can still perform after the weight cut. He typically weighed in just under 230 pounds during his heavyweight run, but got down to 204 for Friday’s main event.

“Just being a little more healthy in my eating and watching it a little more and tracking it,” Bader said of his preparation. “This fight was somewhat short notice as far as weight class, so I immediately hit the ground running. It was extremely clean and kept everything tracked, all my food. It actually turned out really well, I’ve been feeling great.”

While many fighters who move between weight classes feel healthier while in the heavier division, the move back down may be having a positive impact on Bader during fight week.

“[On Tuesday] I worked out, probably the best I’ve ever felt in fight week,” he said. “Maybe my body just likes to lose that extra 15 pounds that I usually have on me. I was feeling awesome, my speed was there, felt great in my head.”