If top Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight contender Ryan Bader was in charge of matchmaking, he would keep Jon Jones on ice for another 10 months.
In the interim, "Darth" would fight Daniel Cormier for the 205-pound strap and then welcome "Bones" back to the Octagon in late 2016, assuming the ex-champ gets reinstated after this. As for Anthony Johnson? He doesn't factor into the equation and anything "Rumble" related was fabricated by his manager the media.
Bader explains to Submission Radio:
"What I think they should do, is they should wait, probably...I don't know, 10 months, and give Ryan Bader this title shot, and he can come back and fight me once I get that. That's what I think should happen. The whole thing with [Anthony Johnson], you know, some media ran with that. He just Tweeted something about 'I never said anything about Bader or whatever, but I will take the fight.' You know for me, I'm looking at fights that make sense right now. He had his shot, let me get my shot. Gustafsson just had his shot. Who's in front of me? Gustafsson and Anthony Johnson. I have a five-fight winning streak right now, the longest one in the UFC in their light heavyweight [division] by far. So for me, these guys all got to get there shot, and you're going to keep on recycling them? So I think I deserve it enough to go out there and fight Cormier. Why would I just take the fights just to take a fight? As of right now, my mindset is, I'm fighting Daniel Cormier until we hear what happens with Jones. So I don't know. That's my mindset right now."
Glad I'm not one of those idiots who called for a "Rumble" fight.
Bader is coming off what may be the biggest win of his career after turning away Rashad Evans at the UFC 192 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Houston, Texas (watch it), the same fight card that saw Cormier retain his title in a five-round bloodbath opposite Alexander Gustafsson.
Considering how muddied the waters have become at 205, the sooner UFC can make a decision on Jones, the better.
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