Ryan Bader Sees Cain Velasquez As Most Dominant Heavyweight Over Fedor
The frequently debated topic continues
American mixed martial artist Ryan Bader picks Cain Velasquez as the best heavyweight fighter of all time.
Determining the heavyweight GOAT always becomes a divided opinion, not just with the fans, but the entire fight community. Some people are preferring Velasquez whereas others are on team Fedor Emelianenko or even Stipe Miocic. However, Bader is confident about his choice and believes that Velasquez was the most skilled out of the lot.
“I would say Cain Velasquez [was the best] when he’s healthy, but the only problem is Cain couldn’t stay healthy for so long and didn’t have the résumé and the fights that Fedor did,” Bader told MMA Fighting.
“I would say Cain could go out there and be the best heavyweight of all-time. If you’re going to put a label on somebody, I would say Fedor would be [the one]. He didn’t come over to the UFC, but it’s not taking anything away from him. He built a legacy. He fought those guys [in Japan], beat a lot of those guys. But if you were to put [on a fight] on their best night, Fedor versus Cain, I’m going to take Cain.”
Unfortunately, fans never got to see a bout between Velasquez and Emelianenko. However, Bader will be taking on the Russian MMA fighter again for the heavyweight title.
“It’s just one of those things, I wasn’t really into it because it’s like, what do I have to gain?” Bader explained. “But the more we talked about it and the more I was thinking, it is a big fight, it’s on CBS, and at the end of the day it’s Fedor. For me to be part of his career not once, but twice, it’s something special. Obviously, too, there’s some upside — I could be the only guy that’s beaten Fedor twice.”