UFC 104: A Story not about Machida or Rua: A Look at Ryan Bader

Let me make something clear before I get into this piece, I do not think Ryan Bader is Dan Henderson.  He is obviously nowhere near the caliber of wrestler Henderson was and probably does not have the granite chin of Dan.  The point of this article is that if Ryan Bader continues to develop he has an almost identical skill set as Dan Henderson.  Let's look at their strengths:

Hammer for a right hand: Many of the similarities between Henderson and Bader can be made for all wrestlers, but this is the first thing that made me compare these two specifically.  They both have huge right hands and are looking for the one punch KO.  Henderson and Bader both use the overhand right in the same fashion.  It is far from a straight punch or clean hook.  They both throw the big, looping right with everything behind it.  They get away with telegraphing the punch because of the "punch (pun intended)" it packs.

Strong top control: Many wrestlers excel at getting the fight to the mat, but many also are too aggressive and struggle at keeping control (look at the Gleison Tibau vs. Josh Neer fight).  Bader and Henderson maintain control when the fight hits the mat.

Good submission defense: Not only do they use their controlled wrestling offense for top control, but also for submission defense.  Over aggression on the mat can get a lot of wrestlers submitted, but having strong top control or keeping the fight standing helps these two against submission fighters.  Bader did not let the fight with Vinny hit the ground and he looked solid against Schafer on the mat.

Strong Chin: Schafer may not be the best striker in the world, but he did land a decent amount of shots to tell us Bader can take a punch.  We all know Henderson's chin is as sturdy as a foreign made car and it looks like Bader may have a strong chin as well.

UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun coverage

Weaknesses:

Bad on their back: Not many wrestlers are strong on their back and usually try and use their skill set to escape or get back up as opposed to mounting offense from the bottom.  As with most wrestlers, Henderson and Bader want to spend as little time as possible on their back.

Poor striking: Their striking is competent in that they can knock someone the "you know what" out.  However, technically speaking this is a weakness for both.  Bader throws nothing but 1-2s with the jab (no intention of hitting) and power right.  Their striking defense is weak and both use their chin to compensate with this.  If either Henderson or Bader had a weak chin they would be in real trouble.  Schafer's striking has improved, but he should not have been able to clip Bader as much as he did.  Schafer is BJJ fighter with improving striking.  We'll see how good Bader's chin is when he faces a fighter whose strength is being on his feet.

Many of these weaknesses and strengths can be applied to most wrestlers, but both Bader and Henderson have a degree of athleticism that put them above most.  Henderson has been able to have such a successful career because of that chin.  Bader's needed improvement in striking defense or his ability to take a punch will be huge for the rest of his career.  If he can withstand a strong punching opponent there is not a bad match up for him in MMA.  However, I would not want to rely on the ability to take a punch for my whole career.  If he cannot shore up his striking defense he will never reach his potential.