Ryan Bader expects experience, power to be difference vs. Corey Anderson at Bellator 268

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Ryan Bader says he’s seen Corey Anderson’s style plenty of times throughout his career.

Bader (28-6 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) meets Anderson (15-5 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) in the light heavyweight grand prix semifinals at Bellator 268, which takes place Oct. 16 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

Going up against a fellow wrestler that he’s trained with in the past, heavyweight champion Bader knows what to expect on the night and thinks he has several advantages that separate the two of them.

“I love the matchup,” Bader told reporters, including MMA Junkie this past Saturday at Bellator 263. “I’ve done well with that style throughout my career. If you look at my fights where I fought wrestlers like that, I’ve done extremely well. A lot of them were knockouts and what not, so I just feel like my experience, I feel like I hit harder than him. He has more volume than me. I believe my jiu-jitsu is better and my MMA wrestling is better. When I want to go get a takedown, I can get it, so I feel really confident about this fight.”

Should he prevail against Anderson, Bader will advance to the grand prix finals and face the winner of champion Vadim Nemkov and Anthony Johnson – two men who hold wins over him.

So the opportunity to both get his light heavyweight title back and avenge a prior loss makes the grand prix final that much more special for the former dual-champion.

“What’s cool about this, I talked about it a long time ago, it’s about redemption,” Bader said. “I get through Corey and then I have two guys that I lost to, and I’m 3-0 in rematches now. My last rematch was with (Lyoto) Machida in my last fight, so I want to keep that streak going for sure, and regardless who wins on that side, there’s a little storyline for me in that redemption.”

To see the full interview with Bader, check out the video above.