Rockford-area MMA star gets another shot at Bellator title
Corey Anderson, the former Hononegah and college wrestler and now a star in the professional mixed martial arts ranks, is getting his third title shot on Friday in Belfast, Ireland.
And Anderson, who recently spoke via Zoom video conference from the site of Friday’s fight night, is intent on not letting this opportunity slip away.
“I’m a little disappointed that I don’t get another shot at (Vadim) Nemkov right now, but a title shot is a title shot,” Anderson said. “My focus is all about just staying locked in. The objective is to get in that cage and handle business.”
Anderson (17-6 MMA, 4-1 Bellator) will take on Karl Moore (12-2, 4-0) for the vacant light heavyweight title in the first event of the new Bellator Champions Series, which will consist of eight global events. They will fight in the comain-event in Bellator 302 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. That is Moore’s hometown.
“I want to be able to do it against someone like Corey,” said Moore, who is on a four-fight win streak. “I mean, a win over Corey would solidify me as one of the best in the world.”
This is the first fight night since the
Professional Fighters League (PFL) purchased Bellator MMA back in November 2023. It’s also been nine months since Anderson’s last fight.
He dominated Vadim Nemkov and looked like he won the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament worth $1 million back in April of 2022. But after a five-minute discussion, it was taken away due to an inadvertent headbutt. The fight was ruled a no-contest.
Anderson then went 0-for-16 in takedown attempts and lost a unanimous decision to Nemkov in his second title
fight nearly six months later. He followed that last loss with a solid beatdown of Phil Davis, earning a split-decision victory on June 16, 2023.
After some downtime as the PFL decided how to handle its new Bellator toy, it’s now time for title fight No. 3.
Anderson, 34, is the No. 1-ranked Bellator light heavyweight, and No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie world light heavyweight rankings. He’s been training in Fairland, Indiana, and near
Robbinsville, New Jersey, but now he’s in Ireland, acclimated and ready.
“I’m just going to go out there and do me,” Anderson said, talking about his fight strategy of focusing on himself, not his opponent. “Just do what you do, have fun, and put on a show.”
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years altogether.