Ryan Bader had his way with Lyoto Machida Friday night, advancing in the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix with a convincing decision victory at Bellator 256.
Bader, the reigning champion, swept the scorecards in the meeting of former UFC fighters. He advances in the tournament and awaits an opponent.
“I don’t know who I’d rather face next. I don’t know much about [Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov] but I know Corey [Anderson] really well. I brought him in for training camps for Phil Davis,” Bader said. “He’s a good guy so I’m rooting for him. But if I have to fight him, I know he’s tough. I’m in this tournament and I ran through another tournament before. I had fun so that’s why I came down here. It doesn’t matter who’s in my way. I want that belt back and this was the first step right here.
“There’s redemption this whole tournament. I got one back on Machida but I’ve lost to Nemkov and I’ve lost to Anthony Johnson, so I would like to meet one of them in the finals. But honestly, to make it to the finals and fight for the belt, I’d be happy with whoever it is.”
In the co-main event, Liz Carmouche bested Vanessa Porto via decision to improve to 15-7 in her career.
“As soon as they say I’m clear and I’m good, I’m ready to get right back into fighting camp and go for the belt,” she said. “If I don’t get a title shot, I’d be disappointed of course. I came in here with the hopes that I would work up the ranks to fight for the title. I just need to know what I need to do. You tell me who I need to beat to get that fight and I’ll do it. I certainly hope that taking somebody who has more fights than I do and beating her tonight would put me in contention for that belt.”
#1-Ryan Bader (28-6, 1 NC) defeated #4-Lyoto Machida (26-11) via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-45, 49-45)
#2-Liz Carmouche (15-7) defeated Vanessa Porto (22-8) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
#3-Adam Borics (17-1) defeated #8-Jeremy Kennedy (16-3, 1 NC) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
#3-Cat Zingano (12-4) defeated Olivia Parker (4-2) via submission (armbar) at 2:56 of round one
Dan Moret (15-6) defeated #3-Goiti Yamauchi (25-5) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Dalton Rosta (5-0) defeated Tony Johnson (9-3) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Talita Nogueira (8-2) defeated Jessica Borga (3-3) via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
#10-Jornel Lugo (6-0) defeated #8-Cass Bell (5-2) via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Cody Law (3-0) defeated Nathan Ghareeb (2-1) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jaylon Bates (2-0) defeated Jeffrey Glossner (2-2) via submission (guillotine) at 1:27 of round two
Nainoa Dung (4-2) defeated Izzy William (4-4) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Diana Avsaragova (3-0) defeated Tara Graff (1-3) via knockout (punches) at :29 of round one
John Douma (5-2) defeated Will Smith (3-3) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)