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Following UFC Vegas: Munhoz vs. Edgar, Dana White suggested Corey Anderson left the UFC because he felt he could be ‘more competitive’ in Bellator.
Corey Anderson’s departure from the UFC seemed amicable enough. Anderson himself made it clear that the principal reason he decided to depart the world’s largest MMA promotion had nothing to do with any deeply held animosity toward his former fighting home. Instead, Anderson says his major epiphany came as a result of the recent head injury he suffered after passing out during a recent hike.
“It’s nothing against the UFC,” Anderson told MMA Fighting in a recent interview. “During the health ordeal, everyday, I was getting checked on by Taylor Price. If there was a bill or something that got sent to my house, it was taken care of. They were on top of everything. There was no problem, no hiccups with that whole health ordeal.
“Hunter [Campbell] reached out and checked on me, Mick [Maynard] checked on me, everything was smooth. But just at that point, I had been there seven years, I had five losses and they had all these new guys coming in. It was time to go somewhere else.”
The Mark Henry trained talent broke down his desire to chase a bigger contract than the UFC was willing to offer, along with more meaningful fight opportunities than what he felt was deck for him in the Octagon. During a recent post fight presser, however, promotion president Dana White gave his own perspective on why Anderson left the UFC.
“First of all, it’s the right move for him,” White told reporters. “You know, this isn’t something that we’ve never done before. And I think that he feels, and we feel that he can be more competitive there.”
Anderson took to Twitter shortly after those comments to make it clear that while he still wasn’t beefing with Dana White, that his spin on the situation was far from the truth.
It doesn’t bother me that he’s still lyin on my name. Anyone who knows me or knows MMA knows this isn’t true. But what doesn’t sit right with me is the people I consider close to me who have power that knows this isn’t true are sitting quiet. Just know I see you. #thataintloyal https://t.co/xRhP5wsHuf
— Corey ‘Overtime’ Anderson (@CoreyA_MMA) August 24, 2020
The question now is, what’s Anderson’s first move in Bellator? There had been talk of him potentially being lined up for the winner of Vadim Nemkov vs. Ryan Bader.
With Nemkov scoring the upset win, there’s been some talk that Bader’s next fight would be back at heavyweight to defend his title there. If Nemkov wants to fight again soon, that could line Anderson up for a chance at the belt sometime in the not too distant future.