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Corey Anderson clears up some statements he made during his UFC 244 post-fight scrum.
UFC light heavyweight contender Corey Anderson notched a huge win over Johnny Walker at UFC 244. It is a win he felt was relevant enough to grant him a title shot.
Anderson also demanded to be released from his UFC contract if the UFC refused to give him the opportunity.
“Release me,” he told reporters during the post-fight scrum. “You don’t want to give me what I’ve earned, let me go. I’m hot. I’ll go somewhere where somebody’s going to respect me. I think a lot of the people feel like you need the UFC. I don’t need the UFC.”
In an interview with MMA Fighting on Tuesday, Anderson went on to clarify the statements which he said were turned into clickbait by some media outlets.
“I have to clear that up. Media’s known for clickbaiting and I think I know what reporter said that but he didn’t say the whole interview,” he said. “The interview in the back they said ‘what do you want next?’ and I said I want a title fight. I want Jon Jones my next fight. Then they mentioned Dominick Reyes and I said 100 percent, Dominick Reyes has been doing his work, he’s put in his time. I wanted to fight him but he’s earned this fight, too. I’m in no rush to fight for the title right now.
“If Jon Jones wants to fight Dominick Reyes in December or January, that’s completely fine,” he continued. “I will take the winner of that. Then it went onto ‘but what if they try to take one of these new guys and bump them up in the rankings and put them in front of you — what if after Dominick Reyes, they push you to the back of the line again, what would you do?’. That’s when I said, if they’re going to do that to me, then release me.”
If Reyes does get the next shot against Jones, Anderson sees the current champion defending his belt easily.
“With one arm tied behind his back and his eyes closed,” he said of Jones beating Reyes. “Everybody has a puncher’s chance. Dominick Reyes has done his part and he did his work and I’ve got to give him that. He’s been earning his stripes and he’s been killing it. But when you watch Dominick Reyes, he’s still not a complete mixed martial artist. He’s young. He still hasn’t been tested to the point where he gets hurt and he has to come back from adversity.
“I’ve been hurt in fights. I’ve been dropped. I’ve lost fights and come back,” he added. “I’ve been knocked out and come back. He hasn’t had that mental test yet so when he gets in there against Jon, and he gets into that first tough situation, I don’t think he would handle it well. I feel like he would crumble. He’s going to fold.”
Anderson is on a four-fight win streak, with his victory over Walker earning him a Performance of the Night bonus. He holds a record 13-4 (with five wins by knockout).