Ryan Bader & Corey Anderson pre-Bellator 268 quotes
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Bellator 268 transpires from Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, October 16th. The broadcast goes down on Showtime featuring both semi-final bouts in the light heavyweight grand prix, a possible lightweight title eliminator bout, and more.
Ryan Bader & Corey Anderson
I spoke with Ryan Bader and Corey Anderson ahead of their Bellator light heavyweight grand prix semi-final fight. The excerpts from our media day interactions can be found below.
Ryan Bader
The redemptive component of this light heavyweight grand prix differing from his feelings amid his victorious heavyweight grand prix win:
“Yeah, redemption is a big part of it, for sure. After my last loss at light heavyweight, I was pretty much thinking that I was just going to be a heavyweight. Defend that title and carry on in that weight class. Then I got asked to come down. To this Grand Prix, light heavyweight Grand Prix. I’m all about opportunities and then I heard about the guys who were gonna be in there. It’s a bunch of guys that I want and need to get redemption against. So I said, what the hell? Let’s do it.”
“So got that against (Lyoto) Machida. It was good to see how far I’ve grown since that loss to him. It’s a fun tournament and if you look at this tournament, too. I mean, arguably three of us in there are the best light heavyweights in the world. So you could say, the heavyweight tournament there’s some older guys. Maybe out of their prime and whatnot. But this tournament right here this Grand Prix are three guys, best light heavyweights in the world. In their extreme prime.”
Bellator 268
Bader’s six year old son dropping ground and pound on a bag and if there could be a second-generation MMA fighter in the Bader family:
“Yeah, his name is Rocket too. He’s a little firecracker, he’s my youngest one, and he’s built like a tank. You know it’s funny, the kids are all different. My older one likes to play football. My younger one is mean. He’s got a drive and he likes to fight. Fighting his older brother all the time and whooping up on him. I kind of came up in an athletic childhood where I was always wrestling.”
“Was always doing that and I don’t want to push that on my kids. I want them to see that exposure and pick what they like. But he does like jiu-jitsu, he likes to punch, and he likes to kick and all that. So I can see him coming into his own and definitely being good at mixed martial arts. I don’t know if he’s gonna fight or not. I’ll let him decide that.”
Corey Anderson
The importance of Corey Anderson’s relationship with “Dooney”:
“That’s my big brother, man. He’s six years older than me. Our birthdays are two days apart. Since we were kids, I mean, that’s been my ace. He’s got kids now but he says other than his kids, I’m his heart. It’s been that way since we were kids. He left home at 17. He used to come back and pick me up. I was 12 years old riding around with my brother. Going to his friend’s crib, playing cards, whatever they’re doing. But he had his dooney with him. I was his boy, his little bro. That was it, nobody can do anything around me. You don’t smoke, you don’t drink around my brother.”
“You respect my little brother. That’s my little dooney right there, respect him. It’s been that relationship our whole life. Even now, he just turned 38, I turned 32. We don’t talk as much as we used to because we both got families. But we still talk. And when we talk, it’s the same relationship. He’s coming to this fight. I’m glad he can finally come back because I love having my dooney in the crowd. I love having all my family. But my brother that’s just, that’s it. That’s why I do this in the cage (pounds chest), that’s my brother. He knows what that means. That’s something we’ve got. That’s my dooney.”
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