Ryan Bader was hoping to get a shot at Daniel Cormier's Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title, but all that was doused when Jon Jones got reinstated recently.
So now, Bader will have to do it the hard way and go through a worthy adversary in Anthony Johnson first.
The fight was recently announced for UFC on FOX 18, which will take place in Newark, New Jersey on Jan. 30, 2016. Johnson has been hoping to get back into the thick of things and apparently, the UFC just granted him his wish.
Johnson is also expected to take aim at the UFC title held by Cormier. He had a chance to win the title back in May but lost via submission to Cormier. If he succeeds in defeating Bader, he can get another crack on Cormier, although it could also depend on the results of the yet-to-be-scheduled match involving Cormier and Jones.
The Bader vs. Johnson setto promises to be very interesting. Bader is heading into the fight on a five-match winning streak, while Johnson is coming off a win over Jimi Manuwa. In all this should be an action-filled matchup to watch out for.
The winner of the match will likely be among the curious onlookers for when the Cormier vs. Jones will happen. Right now, there is no official word on when the fight will take place, although the two have already started jabbing via social media.
Jones got a big break after entering a plea bargain following a hit-and-run incident that happened in April. The UFC looked into the details of the agreement and eventually decided to reinstate him in the latter part of October.
Cormier was among the first to welcome back Jones and has been eager to see when he can avenge his only UFC loss at the hands of Bones back in January this year.
