Bellator light heavyweight Corey Anderson is set for his third shot at winning gold in the promotion, after a pair of fights with Vadim Nemkov, one of which ended in a No Contest, the other in a decision loss.
Anderson came tantalizingly close to winning the promotion’s light heavyweight grand prix in 2022, but ultimately the money, and title, slipped away. Anderson bounced back the following year with a win over Phil Davis, but then chaos struck, at least briefly, as the PFL purchased its rival.
Still, Anderson (17-6, 1NC) finds himself back on track, working towards what he’s always wanted later this month: a world title.
“This is it, this is everything I’ve always worked for. Anybody that’s followed me since 2014 when I came in the game, I’ve always said after every fight, ‘winning is nice, but I’m only here to get the belt.’ That’s it,” Anderson told Cageside Press during Tuesday’s Bellator Belfast media call. Anderson faces Karl Moore for the title vacated by Nemkov, who has since moved to heavyweight, in the card’s main event.
“The money and everything, all that is great. The main goal here is to get the belt. At the end of the day, when it’s all over is said and done, I’ve got to said I had that belt wrapped around my waist, I’m walking off into the sunset with it. If I end up losing it in a title defense later on, I can still say I had it, but the plan is to win the belt, defend the belt as much as I can, walk off into the sunset, and say I finished with the belt around my waist, I did my job.”
Later, Anderson would admit to being “disappointed in the fact that I don’t get to fight Nemkov again right now.” “But,” he added, “a title fight is a title fight. Getting the title is what’s most important to me. So I’m not going to cry over spilt milk, don’t worry about that. As long as I handle this business, then maybe in the future, who knows. Maybe he ends up coming back down later, or I go up later, whatever it is. Hopefully we get that revenge at some point.”
Anderson also admitted there was talk about entering the PFL season, like fellow light heavyweight Phil Davis, but “everything’s always talk until the contract is signed.” Anderson’s response to joining the season was “as long we’re getting paid and there’s a chance to get the belt, where ever we’re going, I’m ready to fight.” The Bellator title fight shot ultimately came first. “The title fight opportunity came, and I was like, let’s do it.”
Watch the full Bellator Belfast media call with Corey Anderson and other Bellator MMA stars above.
