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UFC light heavyweight Ryan Bader had no intention of pursuing free agency in 2016, but when it came time to negotiate his next contract, the same two words kept coming up: Why not?Bader (21-5) is scheduled to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on Saturday in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Greg Little Jersey . The bout will headline UFC Fight Night -- and represents the final fight of his contract.According to Bader, the UFC offered him a new four-fight deal, but the terms just didnt excite him. The 33-year-old is approaching his 20th UFC appearance, and hes willing to at least explore what else is out there.The UFCs offer was par for the course -- nothing crazy or anything that made us say, Oh man, we need to take this! Bader told ESPN.com. It was one of those things where we were in a position to say, Why not fight out the contract? It doesnt mean Im leaving the UFC, but why not see what happens?There were times where I wasnt happy and we needed to renegotiate, like when I was on The Ultimate Fighter contract and they wanted me to fight Rampage [Quinton Jackson] in Japan. There was stuff like that. Sponsorship-wise, I took a hit with the Reebok deal. Im in a weird spot, though I cant bitch too much. But we all want more money for what we do.Baders contract situation adds a wrinkle to this weekend, which, to be frank, initially lacked a little significance.Although Nogueira (22-7) looked good in a first-round knockout over Patrick Cummins in May, a win over the Brazilian would do almost nothing for Baders stock in the 205-pound division. Theres also the fact hes already beat him once. The two met in 2010, with Bader taking a unanimous decision.If you look at it as far as a sequence of who Ive fought, this matchup might not make the most sense, Bader said. But when youre in training camp, every fight feels super important. To get where I want to go, I have to win. I do already have a win over him, and hes a little older now, but hes still a crafty, dangerous veteran.Fighting out of Arizona, Bader says he felt extremely relaxed during his last fight, a second-round knockout over Ilir Latifi in September. Between 2013 and 2015, Bader won five decisions in a row, which he says actually put an enormous amount of pressure on him to keep the streak going.He says he took very few risks because of that, and that showed a little in a quick knockout loss to Anthony Johnson in January. Now, Bader says hes taking chances and looking for knockouts, which would probably lead him to a title shot faster than a long streak of decisions anyway.Its one of those things, I won five fights in a row and didnt get a title shot, Bader said. Im not entirely focused on going out there and getting the win, per se. When I was on my winning streak, I was fighting a certain way because I was telling myself, If youre going to get a title shot, you absolutely cannot lose.Now, Im taking more risks. Im freed up more. Its a fun mindset to be in. Looking back on it now, especially with the way people are getting title shots these days, it probably would have been better for me to throw caution to the wind. I might have lost one or two fights because of it, or I might have won two or three in a row by knockout and got a title shot already. At that point, I really changed the way I look at things. Carolina Panthers Jerseys . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. Luke Kuechly Womens Jersey . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. http://www.shoppanthersonline.us/panthers-luke-kuechly-blue-jersey/ . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Single-A Carolina League is expanding by two teams in 2017 while two teams in the California League will be contracted.Minor League Baseball President Pat OConner said Monday that the Bakersfield Blaze and the High Desert Mavericks will cease operations after the season, with Kinston, North Carolina, and another undetermined city receiving Carolina League teams.The Texas Rangers, whose advanced Class A farm team has been at High Desert for two years, will own the team that plays in Kinston next year. Bakersfield also has been a Seattle Mariners affiliate since 2015.The parent club, ownership and location of the other Carolina League team was not announced. Minor League Baseball says Fayetteville, North Carolina, officials have a memorandum of understanding for a stadium to open in 2019.We are happy that professional baseball will return to Kinston, and we are pleased with the steps Fayetteville has taken to bring professioonal baseball back to that great city as well, OConner said. Brian Burns Youth Jersey. Minor League Baseball says the Rangers and Kinston have a 12-year agreement to play at Grainger Stadium. Kinston was home to a Carolina League team from 1978-2011, and was a Cleveland Indians affiliate for the last 25 years of that run before that team moved to Zebulon, North Carolina, in 2012 and became the Carolina Mudcats.Fayetteville played host to Carolina League teams from 1950-56 and South Atlantic League teams from 1987-2000.High Desert owner Dave Heller said it is with great regret and reluctance that his team is being contracted, and blamed the city of Adelanto, California, for creating too much uncertainty for next season and beyond. Citing budget concerns, the city in March moved to evict the Mavericks from their publicly owned stadium. ' ' '