UFC 139 Predictions: Ryan Bader is in a Must-Win Fight Against Jason Brilz

At UFC 139, Ryan Bader is in a must-win situation against Jason Brilz as he attempts to resurrect his once budding career and his title aspirations.

The once so-called future of the light heavyweight division found his path to UFC glory upended in somewhat disappointing fashion when the current champion, Jon “Bone” Jones, locked in a guillotine choke in the second-round to end proceedings at UFC 126.

“Darth” immediately sought to rectify that mistake by calling out legend and former UFC light heavyweight kingpin, Tito Ortiz.

If he thought that Ortiz would be the easy route back into title contention, he was in for a rude awakening.

Ortiz sent out a message of intent—he wasn’t the gatekeeper to the light heavyweight division.

For the second time in successive fights, Bader succumbed to a guillotine choke and his title ambitions went up in smoke.

Bader now finds himself in the ignominious position of Preliminary Card attraction. For Bader, only a win against Jason Brilz will suffice.

If not then it’s more than likely that he’ll be out of a job by the end of the night's proceedings.

A Bader victory against Brilz is by no means a given. The latter finds in himself in the exact boat as Bader—two consecutive losses and fighting for his job.

Even though Brilz has lost twice, it has been against top-tier opponents—Antônio “Little Nog” Rogério Nogueira and Vladimir Matyushenko.

Also, Brilz has relative knockout power and some good submission skills.

Nevertheless, Bader has the edge with his wrestling pedigree and superior knockout power, but that will be of little significance if the wrong Bader turns up come fight night.

If Bader wants a chance at winning this fight, he needs to go back to basics, be totally focused and use the same momentum that propelled him to “future of the light heavyweight division status.”

At this point in his career, it does beg the question—is Bader a one-hit wonder or has he always been an overrated mixed martial artist?

Those are the questions Bader has to answer at UFC 139 if he’s to save his job at the Zuffa-based company and stay relevant in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

Be that as it may, if the right Bader arrives at UFC 139 then I expect nothing less than a resounding win.