Corey Anderson, just days away from challenging Vadim Nemkov for the Bellator light heavyweight title, already believes he’s the best 205-pounder on the planet. The reason is very simple: he’s already defeated the UFC champ, Glover Texeira, back in 2018, in circumstances that were far less than favorable.
Anderson told the Bellator 277 pre-fight press conference exactly what he thinks of the freshly crowned UFC champ.
“You can say what you want to say. I beat the UFC champ. Handily. On two-week notice.
Bellator Corey Anderson Blasts Glover Teixeira: “I beat the UFC champ. Handily. On two-week notice”
There wasn’t one scorecard that went his way. So what are you saying? Yeah, I got knocked out [by Blachowicz in 2020] — people get knocked out. ‘You got caught by Jan.’
But you go back and watch that [first] fight I did against him [in 2015], my fifth or sixth fight ever — boy, I milked him like a cow. It was the easiest fight I’ve had. I’m just being honest. I was just taking him down left and right.
Then I went out there with a cocky mindset in the last fight [against Blachowicz], like I said, I was playing games, I wasn’t thinking about the business anymore.
Like, ‘Oh, I beat the dude before, I’m going to go out here and show how [good of a striker I am].’ And it cost me. But if I go out there serious and do what I do, I’m untouchable.”
Anderson spent almost all of his MMA career before Bellator with the UFC, and knows better than most the real differences between the two fight promotions.
“There really is none. The difference is the check size. [The critics] bothered me up until the first fight I had in Bellator — I was like, ‘You know what? I don’t care what they’re talking about.’
People say, ‘I’m laughing to bank.’ I know this. Let them talk. I’m laughing with them, but guess what? I’m going to the bank with a lot more money than I ever had in the UFC.
So it’s like, it’s top competition everywhere. The best fighter might not even be signed yet. Who knows? But for me the only difference is the check.”
Corey Anderson plans to use his dominant wrestling approach to neutralize his opponent’s vicious kicking game this weekend. If he can secure the victory, he may well be in contention for the title of greatest light heavyweight on the planet. Perhaps a cross-promotional rematch will be in order.
Do you think Anderson would beat Teixeira again? Let us know in the comments.
