Whether Corey Anderson was inspired by Eddie Gordon, we’ll never know. However, we can say Anderson’s victory looked similar to Gordon’s as the light heavyweight blasted and eventually stopped Matt Van Buren in the first round at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale.
The two opened up exchanging, but it was Anderson who scored first with heavy rights. At first they landed without much follow-up, but that soon changed. Anderson was able to visibly rock Van Buren and from there he pounced. Van Buren tried to hang tough under a barrage of punches, at points locking up the clinch or takedown attempts, but Anderson never really gave him an inch to breathe.
More Coverage: TUF 19 Finale Results | UFC news
Download MMA Fighting iPhone App
Eventually Van Buren fell face forward and ended up in turtle. Anderson spun to the back and finished the fight from there as Van Buren could do little more than cover up.
The end came at 1:01 of the first round, officially by TKO. Anderson becomes the season 19 The Ultimate Fighter light heavyweight winner.
“It came out perfect,” Anderson said. “I want to cry right now, but I can’t. I’m on camera.”
Anderson moves to 3-0 in professional MMA while Van Buren slides to 6-3.