Bellator Champion Fuels Rumors Of Company Sale After Scrapped Title Bout

Originally posted on FanNation MMA Knockout | Last updated 10/3/23

Ryan Bader was open to meeting a short-notice opponent at Bellator 300, but apparently the promotion’s ownership group wasn’t willing to spend the money required to put that together.

“Darth” currently holds Bellator’s heavyweight title and most recently defended his belt against MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko earlier this year. The UFC veteran was scheduled to meet Linton Vassell this weekend as part of a stacked Bellator 300 main card, but unfortunately an illness forced Vassell to withdraw and the promotion elected to take Bader off the event entirely.

Bellator has experienced a tumultuous few months amidst rumors that the promotion is up for sale, and Bader himself appeared to fuel that idea when he responded to a suggestion that he rematch Corey Anderson at Bellator 300 after Vassell’s withdrawal.

Bader is currently on a three-fight winning streak, but his last loss came via 51-second knockout when he and Anderson met at Bellator 268. That bout was contested at light heavyweight, where “Darth” previously reigned as champion before he was stopped by Vadim Nemkov in 2020.

Rumors that the PFL might purchase Bellator have persisted throughout the last few months, and although there are questions about how the bulk of Bellator’s roster might be handled that sale would allow the PFL to add a number of top-level fighters as the promotion prepares for what could be a massive 2024.

With Bader off the card, Bellator 300 will now be headlined by unbeaten Usman Nurmagomedov defending his lightweight belt against Brent Primus. Cris Cyborg will return to MMA to defend her women’s featherweight belt against Cat Zingano in the co-main event slot, and the three-fight main card is rounded out by Ilima-Lei Macfarlane challenging Liz Carmouche for the women’s flyweight belt.

This article first appeared on FanNation MMA Knockout and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: