Corey Anderson is happy to finally be the Bellator light-heavyweight champion.
‘Overtime’ made his return to the cage at Bellator 302 over the weekend in Ireland. The bout was Corey Anderson’s first, since a split-decision victory over Phil Davis last summer. In the former UFC fighter’s return, he faced the rising Irish prospect, Karl Moore. The two competed for the light-heavyweight title that Vadim Nemkov left vacant earlier this year.
Ultimately, Corey Anderson wound up dominating the SBG Ireland talent on Friday night. After five rounds of action, the longtime light-heavyweight won by unanimous decision. For Anderson, the victory was a bit of an emotional one. With his mother in attendance, he immediately gifted the championship to her.
The moment was a long time coming for Corey Anderson, and that’s exactly what he stated in an interview with TMZ Sports. Speaking after his title win at Bellator Championship Series 1, ‘Overtime’ admitted that he’s been searching for a championship for so long. Now that he finally has it, it’s a bit of a strange feeling.
Anderson added that in his career, he’s regularly studied fighters ahead of him, trying to prepare for a future title fight. However, he’s now the Bellator champion and has to shift his mindset to being the hunted.
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(via Bellator)
Corey Anderson reflects on championship victory in Bellator 302 main event
“It’s kind of hard to put it into words.” Corey Anderson stated in the interview with TMZ Sports, recapping his Bellator 302 title win. “It’s kind of like, every night I’m still having those dreams. Even after the night I fought, I remember going back and we fell asleep around 3:30, 4:00 am. I woke up with a dream like I was preparing to fight for the belt, and I looked over and the belt was on the couch. Like, wait, I’m the champ now. I remember being at the airport the next day and telling my wife like, it’s just so weird.”
“… For all these years I’ve always fought and the next morning or that night, I’m studying who I potentially might fight next to get to the title. Or, I got a title fight, and I’m studying the champ. Now, I’m at that point where it’s like, what do I do from here? Like I study and watch film on who I got to fight next to get to the belt but it’s like, I’m the champ. I’m the one they’re studying, and the target’s on my back.”
“So, it’s kind of weird.” Corey Anderson admitted. “I don’t know if it’ll really hit me until I have to get back to camp again.”
What do you make of these comments from Corey Anderson? Did you catch his win over Karl Moore over the weekend at Bellator 302?
