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Jones and Cormier’s Twitter Barbs Don’t Bode Well for Bader

Trivial as it is, the Twitter beef between the current and former light heavyweight champions is paving the way for their rematch. And that’s bad news for Ryan Bader.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (21-1) is nearing the end of the legal crisis that has plagued him for most of 2015. As such, whispers of his inevitable comeback are beginning to surface.

Those whispers gained some volume this week when Jones, who has been silent for much of the year, exchanged a handful of Twitter barbs with Daniel Cormier (17-1), the last man he fought, and the man who has ruled the light heavyweight division in his stead.

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Though Twitter beef is about as trivial as it gets, this exchange does begin to lay the groundwork for a championship rematch between these two champions which, for the moment, resides as the biggest fight the light heavyweight division has to offer. So, these otherwise banal Tweets have got pretty much the entire MMA community excited—with the probable exception of one person. And that's Ryan Bader.

Take as much time as you want, the fire inside of me won't be dying down anytime soon. — Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones)October 20, 2015

Bader (20-4) has spent the last two years amassing a fantastic five-fight win-streak. To refresh: he first defeated Anthony Perosh in one of the most one-sided maulings ever. Next, he dominated former Strikeforce talents Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante and Ovince St. Preux. And finally, he made huge waves in 2015 with decision triumphs over long-time contenders Phil Davis and Rashad Evans. So, while it's hard to forget his decisive losses to Glover Teixeira, Lyoto Machida, Tito Ortiz, and Jon Jones further back down the line, Bader has gotten busy and worked his way to the top of the light heavyweight ladder. Sure, Anthony "Rumble" Johnson's recent callout might suggest otherwise, but the fact remains that among active light heavyweights, nobody deserves the shot more than Bader. The keyword of that last sentence, of course, is "active."

Should Jones' suspension be lifted, which seems inevitable in the not-too-distant future, his status as the former champion and best light heavyweight ever will earn him a place at the front of the line at the expense of all others contenders. And not only does he deserve this honour, but pitting a returning Jones against his arch-rival in Daniel Cormier stands out among the most lucrative fights the UFC can currently put together—in any weight class. Jones and Cormier do, after all, have a long and turbulent history together; one marred by press-conference brawls, profanity-riddled on-air exchanges, and a whole hell of a lot of back-and-forth Tweets.

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I will take my time. I've been fighting against the best in the world not dealing with nonsense. Our time is coming. — Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma)October 20, 2015

So, while Bader has undoubtedly earned his shot, the unfortunate reality for him is that all the hard work in the world will not trounce Jones' status as the returning champion, and therefore the most deserving of a title shot. And while Bader and Cormier have had their own run-ins in the past, namely a press-conference shouting match back in May, their shared history pales in comparison to that of Jones and Cormier. This means that even if Bader could somehow be argued more deserving of the shot than a returning Jones, Jones vs. Cormier 2 will still sell more tickets and pay-per-views. And dollars make sense.

Now, one might argue that a Ryan Bader title shot could be shoehorned somewhere into the calendar before Jones is reinstated as a member of the UFC roster, but Cormier has been vocal about his desire to take a break after a very busy 2015, and Jones' comeback appears more imminent by the day. And so, given that Bader almost certainly comes up second in a sprint to the belt against Jones, he's faced with two choices.

One is to wait, and hope his claim to a fight with the winner of a Jones vs. Cormier rematch is not called into question by another streaking light heavyweight. The other is to take another fight; to attempt to extend his streak to six and add even more leverage to his claim as light heavyweight number-one-contender. In that event, the only suitable dance partner for Bader seems to be the recently vocal Rumble.

But really, whether he waits or takes another fight, Jones and Cormier's recent Tweets reaffirm one thing for Ryan Bader. Despite his fantastic 5-fight streak over a host of elite fighters, he is probably going to have to wait a little longer for his shot at the light heavyweight crown. And he's got Jon Jones to thank for that.