Ryan Bader isn't one to dwell on the past, even when it does its best to come find him.

Bader (24-5) will face Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal at Bellator 199 on Saturday at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The winner will join Fedor Emelianenko, Chael Sonnen and Matt Mitrione in the semifinals of Bellator MMA's Heavyweight World Grand Prix.

This could be a huge year for Bader, who already holds Bellator's light heavyweight title. If all goes well, he could wrap up 2018 as a two-weight champ.

On Jan. 20, however, a frustrating part of Bader's past came calling. That was the night UFC champion Daniel Cormier defended his 205-pound title via TKO against Volkan Oezdemir in Boston.

Bader, who left the UFC last year to sign with Bellator, watched that fight from home in Arizona. Several of his friends reached out -- and nearly all shared the same confusion. How did Oezdemir, with a UFC record of 3-0, get a title shot -- when Bader, who accumulated 15 wins over eight years, never received the opportunity?

"I definitely thought about that," Bader told ESPN. "I heard from people, 'Hey, who is this Oezdemir guy?' He's mainly a striker, so Cormier went and took him out pretty quickly. It was one of those things where, yeah, I was over there for a long time and I wish I would have gotten my shot.

"But I've moved so far past that. I thought about it for a second right after the fight. I just went, 'Huh?' And then I moved right on."

Bader, 34, won Bellator's 205-pound title in his promotional debut last June, and has already recorded one defense.

Oddsmakers immediately pegged Bader as one of the favorites to win this Bellator tournament, even though he's not a natural heavyweight.

In addition to a heavyweight title to target in the finals, the tournament's potential matchups offer Bader a lot of appeal along the way. Saturday is a chance to defeat Lawal (21-6), who dominated him in a college wrestling match more than a decade ago.

Bader says a fight against Emelianenko in the finals would be a "storybook ending" to the yearlong tournament.

After years of chasing an opportunity to simply fight for a belt, Bader is happy and motivated for the rest of this year. It's nice to know exactly where he stands.

"It's funny how those title shots can play out," Bader said. "I'm really looking forward to this tournament. The one cool thing for me is that I know who I'm fighting. I've never had that before. It's always been, 'Go out and win this fight and we'll see what happens.'

"I know what's next if I go out there and keep winning. That's the main difference and that's what gets me excited."