NEW YORK – Matt Mitrione believes a potential Ryan Bader vs. Chael Sonnen final in the Bellator heavyweight grand prix tournament would be the worst outcome possible. Mitrione (13-5 MMA, 4-0 BMMA), who meets Bader (25-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) in the first tournament on Friday at Bellator 207, thinks he should already be the Bellator heavyweight champion. He sees the upside of the organization putting on an eight-man tournament to determine who claims the vacant belt, but not if it’s Bader and Sonnen (30-15-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) who fight for it. Mitrione said it needs to be a real heavyweight who has the strap, so he must ensure he wins his fight. He can’t control what happens the following night, though, when Sonnen meets Fedor Emelianenko (37-5 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) in the second semifinal pairing
Link: