14 April 27th–MAy 3rd, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | music | cafe | film | culTuRe | NighT+Day | feaTuRe | NeWs | OPiNiON | feeDBacK | cONTeNTs | and the country that has produced the most champions. And UFC, headquartered next door to Arizona in Las Vegas, has crowned more champions with ties to Arizona than any other state. The Grand Canyon State is punching above its weight amid a decade of unprecedented growth in the sport and many of its prize fighters are cultivated right here in Phoenix. MMA Sucka, which covers the industry as part of Toronto-based Last Word on Sports, says Arizona has “the best wrestlers in the country.” They include fighters such as Arizona State University legend Cain Velasquez, dubbed by Bleacher Report as “the best heavyweight in the world.” Then there’s Phoenix-based Henry Cejudo, the only person to ever win an Olympic gold medal and a UFC title. There’s also hot young prospect Sean O’Malley, the top bantamweight in the world who lives in Scottsdale. Justin Gaethje was a two-time Arizona high school champion out of his tiny hometown in Graham County. He went on to become a UFC lightweight champion. And don’t forget about Ryan Bader, the Phoenix-based former ASU standout and UFC fighter who’s currently the reigning Bellator Heavyweight Champion and its first two-belt champion. He’s considered by Black Belt Magazine to be the greatest fighter out of Arizona, ever. For Bader or Worse Bader first defended his Bellator Heavyweight World Championship belt at the Footprint Center in Phoenix last year. In February, he successfully defended it again with a technical knockout versus Russian Fedor Emelianenko in Inglewood, California. “I love knowing that Arizona is repre- sented in the MMA world,” Bader, 39, told New Times. “When I started off, it was a relatively young sport. To watch it grow to what it is today is incredible. I love watching Arizona succeed, not just myself.” But 15 years ago and fresh out of ASU, Bader worked a desk job answering phone calls. Feeling trapped on a path to nowhere, he gave up corporate life and turned to MMA. The gamble paid off. In his protracted career, “Darth Bader” has won more than four contests for each loss. But Bader’s origins are humble. He described “fighting for peanuts” all over Arizona early in his career, appearing on fight cards in Camp Verde, inside a barn in Globe, and even in a bull riding ring in Nogales, Mexico. “It was the wild, wild west days of MMA,” Bader laughed, describing how he walked on foot from an Arizona motel across the international border to fight at a small Mexican rodeo. At the time, Bader was teamed up with RUF MMA, the country’s only Native American-owned fight promoter based in Phoenix. At nearly 20 years old, it was one of the first-ever in the state. RUF MMA promoter C.J. Pitman remembers Bader’s bull ring days. “Bader choked out that guy out in Nogales,” he said. Coming out of high school in Reno, Nevada, Bader was recruited by several colleges and was offered a full ride to the University of Oregon. But he “really fell in love with Arizona” on a 12th-grade trip to ASU and has been here ever since. “Arizona is a perfect fit for me,” he said. On the ASU wrestling team, Bader shared the spotlight with a half-dozen other eventual MMA fighters, including Tempe-based UFC fighter Jesse Forbes. That collegiate connection got Bader hooked on MMA. But a career in Phoenix means Bader has always been forced to take turns in the limelight. Not that it bothers the champion. “I don’t worry about that stuff,” Bader said. “I had goals and continue to have them. I continue to focus on myself. There was never any jealousy or competition to be the Arizona guy.” Bader partially credits himself with UFC’s booming growth in the U.S. in the last decade, which has seen viewership triple and brand value increase by 500 percent, according to Statista. UFC >> p 16 Paul Marghitas, who calls Phoenix home, dreams of becoming a UFC champion. Fight from p 13 Elias Weiss
