After kicking off the rust in the first round, Ryan Bader returned to his dominant form in tournament competition.
“Darth” advanced as the first semifinalist of the Bellator MMA light heavyweight grand prix after overcoming a modicum of difficulty in the early going. Once Bader established his wrestling and unleashed heavy ground-and-pound, he lumped up Lyoto Machida for the remaining four rounds to capture a unanimous verdict. The judges awarded Bader a 49-46 score along with two 49-45 tallies thanks to his handiwork on the ground, prevailing in the main event of Bellator 256 in the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.