Champ Ryan Bader hopes Alistair Overeem, Junior Dos Santos join Bellator heavyweight division

Ryan Bader wouldn’t be mad if Bellator added heavyweight legends Alistair Overeem and Junior Dos Santos to its heavyweight roster. However, he’s unsure if they’ll be deemed a good fit.

The UFC parted with two longtime divisional mainstays earlier this month when former champion Dos Santos (21-9) and onetime title challenger Overeem (47-19) were released from their respective contracts.

Both men have yet to publicly give details about their plans for the future, but if they continue competing, Bellator would seemingly be a potential destination.

However, Bader (27-6 MMA, 5-1 BMMA), the reigning Bellator heavyweight champion, doesn’t know if company president Scott Coker will be interested in bringing 37-year-old Dos Santos and 40-year-old Overeem and into the fold.

“Look at what Bellator has done with (building) light heavyweight,” Bader told MMA Junkie on Monday. “It all depends, because Bellator’s model, they’re kind of changing a little bit. They’re bringing up their own guys, younger guys and all that. Yeah, I would like those guys to come over. I don’t know if they’e going to get those older guys now. We’ll see.”

Bader is currently focused on fighting at light heavyweight to work toward regaining champ-champ status. The first step comes at Bellator 256 on April 9, whee he’ll rematch Lyoto Machida in the opening round of the 205-pound grand prix.

Whether he wins the tournament or gets eliminator in the opening round, Bader said he will return to heavyweight to defend his title – and he wouldn’t mind seeing a couple of MMA legends up there waiting for him.

“I don’t know if Overeem is retired now,” Bader said. “But Dos Santos definitely seems like he wants to keep fighting and all that, so he’d be a good addition.”

To hear the full interview with Bader, check out the video below.