Corey Anderson didn’t agree with Joe Rogan’s recent comments about fighters outside Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) “wasting their careers.”
Anderson, 34, has been one of the better Light Heavyweight fighters on Earth for the better part of the past decade. “Overtime” debuted in UFC by winning his way through The Ultimate Fighter 19 (TUF) in July 2014. He’d eventually move on to Bellator after first round knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz in February 2020.
Longtime UFC commentator, Rogan, took to his podcast this past week (Dec. 21, 2023) to express his belief that there isn’t much upside to competing outside of the worldwide leader in mixed martial arts (MMA). Having been on both sides of the coin, Anderson fired back on Instagram over the weekend (Dec. 23, 2023).
Now yall know I LOVE my guy Joe!
But as someone who spent 7 years in the UFC and left at #4 in the organization….. fans seeing me fight wasn’t enough to pay bills or even begin to set my family up for a future. My wife and I both had to have jobs to keep afloat in between fights until my first fight in Bellator. I always say “I make more money in Bellator”, well my last fight ranked in the top 5, and my purse didn’t even make close to 6 figures… that’s 100K… after 7 years, 15 fights, 13 top 15 opponents, and being ranked in the top 10 within my first year. (My debut fight I made 16k). Hell, even to go be on @joerogan podcast, I had scramble to find someone to cover for me at work to go.
Yet my first fight in Bellator I made 5x more and was able to free my wife of a job and focus fully on my career as a fighter for the first time ever.
SOOOOO what good is it to have a fan base when I still have to work everyday to afford life. Compared to having fewer fans, financial freedom, and set your family up for life after fighting?
Yes I make that money bc of my start in the UFC but there’s fighters like @ajmckee101 and @patchymix that built that financial freedom in Bellator who may have never gotten it in UFC and also has a fan base! Even @mikechandlermma and @michaelvenompage
So if you want fans and stardom… yes, you have a better chance in the UFC. But if you want to make money… test the field and go where the money is. [shrug emoji]
FAME DOESN’T PAY BILLS……..MONEY DOES!
Since he made his way to Bellator, Anderson has been virtually flawless minus two hiccups (4-1, 1 no contest, 17-6, 1 no contest overall) in his world title opportunities opposite the champion, Vadim Nemkov. Anderson scored technical knockout finishes in his first three fights in the promotion and last rebounded with a split decision win over Phil Davis at Bellator 297 in June 2023.