Bellator champ Ryan Bader opens up on leaving PFL, says retiring in the UFC 'would be a cool scenario'

Bellator champion Ryan Bader explained why he opted to part ways with PFL.

Bader (31-8-1) is now a free agent after PFL failed to provide him clarity on his fighting future. He departed with one fight left on his deal, but unlike several other fighters in the promotion, the split was amicable.

“When they acquired Bellator, and Bellator was no longer, it was like everything was up in the air,” Bader told Submission Radio. “Like, who’s the champ – this and that. Me coming as the Bellator champ, I couldn’t really fight just anybody.

“So it’s like finding an opponent and all that kind of stuff, and I didn’t know how long that would be, and I wanted to get something going sooner rather than later. So we came together and decided a release would be for the best.”

Bader was asked about the UFC, where he started his tenure in 2008 after winning Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The 41-year-old fought a slew of big names in the octagon from the likes of Jon Jones, Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, Tito Ortiz, Lyoto Machida, and Glover Teixeira.

He is open to a UFC return if he can get one more fight in only.

“My manager and I, we talked about that and talked about how cool it would be, kind of full circle, come back, and at least retire in the UFC or whatnot – even have one fight,” Bader said. “I don’t know if they’re in the business of doing that, but definitely we have thought about it, and it would be a cool scenario.”

Another potential avenue Bader could explore is the GFL, who has signed big-name veterans such as Urijah Faber, Luke Rockhold and Anthony Pettis.