Stipe Miocic enlists Bellator light heavyweight champ Ryan Bader to help prepare for Daniel Cormier

On July 7, in the main event of the absurdly stacked UFC 226, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will attempt to defend his title against a beefed-up version of UFC light Daniel Cormier. In anticipation of this momentous challenge, Miocic has called on Ryan Bader to help him prepare.

Bader, of course, is a very interesting training partner for Miocic. First and foremost, he is a big, powerful wrestler with wicked punching power, like Cormier. Secondly, as the Bellator light heavyweight champion and an entrant in Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix, he’s also light heavyweight champion vying for a heavyweight title — just like Cormier.

See some images of Miocic and Bader together below, via Bader’s Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjbLuqIlw7L/

“Rounds in with the champ [Stipe Miocic]” Bader said in one post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjfLY9PF7Bm/

“Thanks for having me out [Stipe Miocic], and for the work from the great coaches and people [at Strong Style Training Center],” Bader said in a second post.

Stipe Miocic last fought in January, when he picked up a dominant, unanimous decision win over highly-hyped heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou. With this win, Miocic set the record for most consecutive title defenses by a UFC heavyweight champion, as he has also defended the title against Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. He’s currently an impressive 18-2 overall.

Ryan Bader, meanwhile, last fought in mid-May, when he knocked out Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in just 15 seconds. With this win, Bader advanced to the second round of Bellator’s championship-crowning Heavyweight Grand Prix, where he will meet Matt Mitrione sometime later this year. Training with Miocic, of course, is sure to pay dividends in preparing for this fight. Bader is currently 25-5 overall.

Do you think Ryan Bader will be a useful training partner for Stipe Miocic as he prepares for his UFC 226 showdown with Daniel Cormier? Join the conversation in the comments section below.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/4/2018.