Ever since the
Professional Fighters League acquired
Bellator
MMA in November, there were speculations that the company would
host a champion-versus-champion event in 2024. Holding true to the
commitment and the vision for global outreach, the organization
will set foot in the Middle East for the historic
PFL “PFL vs. Bellator Champs” card this Saturday at the Kingdom
Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The event will witness four championship fights in the heavyweight,
middleweight, welterweight and featherweight divisions. In the main
event, heavyweight stalwarts
Ryan Bader
and
Renan
Ferreira will seek to defend their respective organizational
titles.
Bader boasts an impressive resume, having previously reigned as
Bellator light heavyweight champion. He went on to compete in the
heavyweight division, where he is still undefeated with wins over
Fedor
Emelianenko,
Valentin
Moldavsky and
Cheick
Kongo. Meanwhile, Ferreira arrived on the PFL scene with flair,
defeating former
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion
Fabricio
Werdum. However, the result was overturned to a no contest
after replays showed Ferreira tapping out while “Vai Cavalo” had
him locked into a triangle choke right before he finished Werdum
via technical knockout.
Ahead of the anticipated Bader-Ferreira clash, let us delve into
some of the numbers they will carry into their showdown:
3: Bader boasts the most successful consecutive heavyweight title
defenses in Bellator MMA history with three.
15: Bader holds the record for third-most victories in UFC light
heavyweight division history behind only Jones and
Glover
Teixeira.
20: Appearances ties Bader with
Rashad
Evans and
Jan
Blachowicz for fifth-most bouts in UFC light heavyweight
division history.
9: Decision victories for Bader as a UFC light heavyweight,
second-most ever for a fighter at 205 pounds.
13: Bader victories by knockout or technical knockout.
3: “Darth” also has three submission victories under his belt.
12: Bader was undefeated in 12 fights after he turned professional
in 2007.
10: Ferreira holds 10 victories by knockout or technical knockout,
underscoring his explosive fighting style.
83: Ferreira boasts an impressive 83% finish rate as a pro.