Where would you rank Ryan Bader in the current UFC HW division?

[BFoe]

I doubt he'd sub him, when was the last time Bader subbed anyone. BB has only been subbed once in his career. Plenty of good wrestlers have failed at holding BB down, DC is just top of the food chain, which Bader isn't imo.

Who? Other than Blaydes, what good wrestlers has Lewis been fighting? Maybe tiny little Latifi, but I wouldn’t expect him to be able to hold Lewis. And I agree that Bader subbing Lewis isn’t very likely, I’m just saying it’s a possible path to victory. Bader is a BJJ black belt after all. But honestly I think the fight plays out a lot like Bader’s fight with Mitrione, or Lewis’s fight with DC.

You think he beats BB? I think he gets slept after BB just stands up. Book it!

Book it. I think Lewis is a hard AF hitter, keeps that power for at least a few rounds, and is decently athletic for a big dude. But his overall striking game is meh, his grappling game is basically nonexistent and his wrestling is close to nonexistent. I think he’s lucky as shit that he’s in a division with slow lumbering dudes like Tuivasa, Tybura, or Daukaus, and old ass dudes like Ivanov, Olenik, and Abdurakhimov, etc. Lewis couldn’t handle shot versions of Hunt or JDS—could you imagine that poor bastard having to deal with prime forms? Or prime Cain, or Barnett, or even prime Arlovski or Sylvia, and obviously Fedor… Lewis would get smoked on the regular.

 

[Kos Fan]

The fact that he has a spotty chin wouldn’t help him. He’s also not that big and doesn’t have great cardio. He grinds out a couple top 10 wins but likely gets KO’d by the top 5.

 

[Shay Brennan]

Top 10 for sure

 

[r-harper-1]

Top 10 …. Bader isn’t good , but neither is the hw division…..might even sneak into the top 5 if he got a favourable matchup

 

[Last Falconry]

top 40, maybe. trash

 

[r-harper-1]

I feel like he could beat everyone 5-10 …but could lose to most of them as well

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Who? Other than Blaydes, what good wrestlers has Lewis been fighting? Maybe tiny little Latifi, but I wouldn’t expect him to be able to hold Lewis. And I agree that Bader subbing Lewis isn’t very likely, I’m just saying it’s a possible path to victory. Bader is a BJJ black belt after all. But honestly I think the fight plays out a lot like Bader’s fight with Mitrione, or Lewis’s fight with DC.

Oleinik had him on the ground, Ivanov had him on the ground, Latifi had him on the ground. None of them subbed him. Oleinik is a significantly bigger threat on the ground than Bader imo.

 

[Fioretti]

Who? Other than Blaydes, what good wrestlers has Lewis been fighting? Maybe tiny little Latifi, but I wouldn’t expect him to be able to hold Lewis. And I agree that Bader subbing Lewis isn’t very likely, I’m just saying it’s a possible path to victory. Bader is a BJJ black belt after all. But honestly I think the fight plays out a lot like Bader’s fight with Mitrione, or Lewis’s fight with DC.

Book it. I think Lewis is a hard AF hitter, keeps that power for at least a few rounds, and is decently athletic for a big dude. But his overall striking game is meh, his grappling game is basically nonexistent and his wrestling is close to nonexistent. I think he’s lucky as shit that he’s in a division with slow lumbering dudes like Tuivasa, Tybura, or Daukaus, and old ass dudes like Ivanov, Olenik, and Abdurakhimov, etc. Lewis couldn’t handle shot versions of Hunt or JDS—could you imagine that poor bastard having to deal with prime forms? Or prime Cain, or Barnett, or even prime Arlovski or Sylvia, and obviously Fedor… Lewis would get smoked on the regular.

Idk, man. I think he can put anyone to sleep. Bader is no exception. Book it!

 

[PrinceOfPain]

Top 10 - his wrestling could have him popping in and out of the top 5.
If his chin was better, he'd be an almost guaranteed top 5.

 

[Tito Tapped]

The only top 10 UFC heavyweight that would give Bader some problems is Curtis Blaydes

Put some respeck on it

 

[ArtardFiesta]

in the ufc he is better of at lhw

 

[Kryptt]

Top 10 imo but I'm not very fond of Bader. He does get the job done however...

 

[Ghostoftheville]

I've been saying it for ages that UFC HW 2022 badly lacks grapplers, I don't think most of them even have a clue how to do a takedown, that so called wrestling in the Ngannou/Gane fight was so amateurish and sloppy, 2 rookies right there. Most of the UFC HW fights are all striking only, its not like the other divisions where there are much more takedowns.

Someone with good subs and ground 'n' pound and good wrestling would do very well in my opinion, as long as they don't get involved with the sloppy slugging that UFC modern HWs are.

Like Curtis Blaydes essentially, his striking isn't even bad, he just fought Francis 2x and ran straight into a Lewis uppercut

 

[BFoe]

Oleinik had him on the ground, Ivanov had him on the ground, Latifi had him on the ground. None of them subbed him. Oleinik is a significantly bigger threat on the ground than Bader imo.

Oleinik was a bigger ground threat back in 1957 maybe, when he was a young man. Don’t get me wrong, dude is a G. But the version of Oleinik that Lewis fought was like 42 years old and in the middle of a 2-5 run. I can be pretty critical of Lewis, and even I picked Oleinik to win that fight. We can only guess how a Bader fight would play out, but I’d love to see it.

Idk, man. I think he can put anyone to sleep. Bader is no exception. Book it!

Definitely he can. Lewis has really good timing on his power shots, no doubt. And Bader’s chin is questionable. I just think it’s more likely than Bader wrestles him to death. But like you say: book it. I’d really like that fight.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Oleinik was a bigger ground threat back in 1957 maybe, when he was a young man. Don’t get me wrong, dude is a G. But the version of Oleinik that Lewis fought was like 42 years old and in the middle of a 2-5 run. I can be pretty critical of Lewis, and even I picked him to win that fight. We can inky guess how a Bader fight would play out, but I’d love to see it.

Definitely he can. Lewis has really good timing on his power shots, no doubt. And Bader’s chin is questionable. I just think it’s more likely than Bader wrestles him to death. But like you say: book it. I’d really like that fight.

Oleinik on top is still Oleinik on top, he just has trouble getting people there now. He still has the grappling and old man strength.

 

[Jewish Lightning]

Derrick Lewis is top 3. Bader would beat the shit out of him so top 3 I guess. UFC heavyweight division is that bad.

 

[NoSmilez]

Bader is on the smaller side for a HW but his pace isn't crazy. I think he will be one of those weird cases where he beats some bigger named opponents but falls short on lower ranked guys.

 

[jjresq]

Hell be in the top 15 but with the right matchups he might make it to the top 5

 

[jjresq]

Derrick Lewis is top 3. Bader would beat the shit out of him so top 3 I guess. UFC heavyweight division is that bad.

Bader is exactly the type of fighter Derrick Lewis knocks out. Grapplers and wrestlers struggle against Lewis.

 

[BFoe]

Oleinik on top is still Oleinik on top, he just has trouble getting people there now. He still has the grappling and old man strength.

Not according to his record, he doesn’t. The last person Oleinik subbed was Maurice Greene for goodness sake, who is 1-4 in his last 5. Before that, it was an old, shot Mark Hunt. I’m a fan of Oleinik so I’m not trying to disrespect him. I’m just saying that there’s not much to be learned by watching someone perform well against Oleinik in 2020. The man has been fighting since the mid-1990s. Can’t believe he hasn’t retired, honestly.