Phoenix, AZ — If one thing has been learned from Corey Anderson’s time with Bellator MMA, it’s that yes, he has some personality.
Derided during his UFC run for a fighting style that didn’t exactly dazzle fans, and as being a bit dry on the mic, Anderson (15-5) in recent years seems to have found his comfort zone.
He’s also been finding the finish, earning the W inside the distance in his last three wins, two of which have come under the Bellator MMA banner. That said, Anderson doesn’t feel any pressure to repeat that at this weekend’s Bellator 268.
“There was never any pressure to get a finish. I just wanted to go out there and have fun, do what I do,” Anderson told Cageside Press during Thursday’s media day in Phoenix, Arizona. “And doing that brought me to the present finishes that everybody keeps talking about. So there’s no pressure, just go out there be cool, like coach says, just be yourself. Have fun. Win, lose or draw, have fun. You have fun, that’s when you show up the best you’ve ever been.”
Entering his light heavyweight grand prix semifinal with Ryan Bader, a former Bellator 205lb champ and the promotion’s current heavyweight king, Anderson was asked where Bader sits, in terms of opponents.
“He’s right up there at the top,” replied Anderson. “He was at the top too. We fought some of the same guys. Ilir Latifi, Glover Teixeira, OSP. We’ve got a lot of the same fights. He beat OSP, and I beat Glover. He’s one of the top. It’s just at this point, I feel I’m one of the best in the world, if not the best. I say it all the time, and I truly believe it. So him stacking up me, I just feel it doesn’t match.”
The highlight of Thursday’s media day, however, was unquestionably Anderson busting out a bit of New Edition, and talking Bobby Brown. He even sang a bit of New Edition’s Can You Stand the Rain while showing off his dance moves. Jump ahead in the video embed above to 5:50 to check that out.
Corey Anderson meets Ryan Bader in the co-main event of Bellator 268 this Saturday, October 16, 2021 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ.