Ryan Bader explains decision to split with PFL, open to potential UFC reunion for final fights

Ryan Bader just knew it was time.

With more than a year gone since his last appearance in the PFL after he landed a supporting role in the upcoming Mark Ker biopic The Smashing Machine, the Bellator heavyweight champion wasn’t sure when he was going to compete again. That opened the door to a conversation with the promotion about parting ways as friends. While it’s rare that a fighter and organization decide to split up without some kind of ill will between them, Bader promises there is absolutely no bad blood with the PFL after ending his relationship with the promotion despite still having one bout left on his contract.

“It was probably more my deal,” Bader told MMA Fighting about his decision to leave PFL. “I’m in a position where I’m the Bellator heavyweight champ. It’s kind of weird with them absorbing it, who’s who, who’s the champ, and all that kind of stuff and then they have their tournaments.

“For me, I just felt like it’s going to be a little while [before I fight again], it’s kind of unclear so we had a good talk with them and decided to go our own separate ways. We were happy with the outcome. They were great to us, and I had an absolute blast with that run in Bellator. I’ll look back very fondly on that.”

Bader suffered a loss in his only appearance in PFL after he fell to Renan Ferreira back in February 2024 in a fight that determined who would eventually face Francis Ngannou in his promotional debut.

It wasn’t long after that fight ended that Bader got an unexpected call about potentially joining The Smashing Machine movie where he would star alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Academy Award-nominee Emily Blunt.

Once he landed that role, Bader spent the next few months filming that production and he appreciated that the PFL allowed him that time and opportunity when he was still contractually obligated to them.

“With that movie they were great, they were like go do your thing, we’ll be here after,” Bader said. “I was actually happy we came to a deal afterwards, and they made me happy. Just one of those things. I’ll always have good things to say about both those organizations. We’re all good here.”

While there were a couple of reasons why Bader decided to split with PFL, perhaps one of the biggest driving factors came down to his place in the sport right now.

At 41, Bader understands he doesn’t have a lot of time left before retirement, and he wasn’t all that interested in joining a PFL tournament. Add to that, he wasn’t sure what matchups might be available to him that wouldn’t end up as a potential rematch considering Bader already ran through many of the top heavyweights that previously competed in Bellator.

“I felt like I didn’t have a ton to prove anymore,” Bader said. “For me, I loved my Bellator run. It was so much fun but even then we were kind of recycling guys. I kind of felt it going that same kind of route. The tournaments are kind of weird, because my purse is great money, and nobody really wants to pay that multiple times in a year let alone three times in a year and I get that. So that wasn’t really an option. I don’t know. For me I could get three fights somewhat quickly and then be done but yeah, we that opportunity to do the movie, that was all summer and then haven’t fought for a while.

“For me, it was just perfect timing. It took away that unknown even though I’m in a different unknown, I can kind of steer where I’m going. We’re happy where we’re at. I had a blast in those organizations. We’ll just see what next. I believe there will be something next, at least one more.”

Now that he’s a free agent for the first time since 2017 when he left the UFC and signed with Bellator, Bader knows there are going to be options available to him.

Much like leaving the PFL now, Bader didn’t exit the UFC under bad terms and he’s always maintained a good relationship with the organization, which included a return to his old stomping grounds at The Ultimate Fighter when he helped out Michael Chandler while he was coaching the reality show competition.

So is it possible that Bader potentially returns to the UFC for the final fights of his career?

“My manager and I we definitely talked about how cool it would be come back for even one more fight,” Bader said about returning to UFC. “End a career there where it started. Like I said, we’re definitely open. There’s a lot of cool opportunities also with this movie, even going to the RIZIN/Japan thing. That’s where the same arena is where most of this movie was based. Obviously, playing Coleman and he won there, this and that, that would be a cool angle, too. The UFC would be a cool angle.

“But in my shoes right now, do I want to go fight four more times? No. Business perspective on their side, it would almost be like a farewell kind of deal, one or two fights.”

The UFC isn’t the only option available to him. Bader said the ink had barely dried on his release from the PFL before he was already fielding calls from potential suitors.

“I’m leaving everything open right now,” Bader said. “We’re actually talking to RIZIN right now a little bit. They contacted us right away and have some cool things potentially with them. I’m open to grappling on UFC Fight Pass, maybe a potential boxing deal, fun stuff.

“I’ve been a competitor my whole life and trying to be the best at it. From wrestling, collegiate wrestling, getting into MMA, Ultimate Fighter, 20 fights in the UFC to Bellator and my mindset’s always been win. Just win and take care of itself.”

More than anything, Bader just wants to enjoy his final fights before calling it career so he’s not putting pressure on himself to hunt down titles or top 10 opponents.

Bader has climbed and conquered those mountains plenty of times before, so now he’s just looking to return to action knowing that the sand in the hourglass is almost out.

“So I want to have something come up where it’s fun and I can go out and be like this is fun,” Bader said. “I got to go train maybe for one last time for a fight and have that feeling of walking into a cage. Putting the work in to get a result and having that feeling afterwards that you accomplished something, especially with a win. There’s no better feeling.

“I’m not really putting a number [on how many fights left]. It depends on opponents and opportunities. Like I said, I’m always going to be competitive. I don’t want to be like I’m going for another run somewhere for a title or something like that. I’m looking for maybe one more cool fight, maybe if it’s something you couldn’t refuse and you do two more. But like I said, my mind frame if I have a fight, I’m going in there to win but it’s a different mindset than I had before. I’ve got to win this title. I’ve got to keep this title. It’s kind of freeing. Financially it has to make sense, too. We’ve already had some stuff come across our table that’s very interesting, and we have some time and kind of go from there.”