Cory Anderson, who recently made his Bellator debut says the promotion has better Light-Heavyweight prospects as compared to UFC.
While UFC is generalized as the leading MMA brand in the world, Bellator MMA often presents its case as an ideal competitor. The promotion is growing by leaps and bounds and some observers believe, in the coming years, it will dethrone UFC from the No.1 tag.
Though it will be a herculean task for Bellator to reach the stature of UFC, however, as per an assertion by a fighter who has experienced fighting under both banners, Bellator is already better in one aspect.
Cory Anderson, who in 2020 left UFC to join Bellator, claims that his current fight house harbors better Light-Heavyweight prospects as compared to UFC. In an interview with MMA Fighting, the former UFC main event figure opened up on the current setting of the 205-pound section and implied that Bellator has an edge over UFC in the concerned weight class.
“I just feel right now Bellator has the upper hand,” Anderson said. “(Jon) Jones has left. They’ve got these hype trains. These young guys UFC has coming in, they’re trying to hype up, but I feel like their legitimacy aren’t like the vets that were there that are in Bellator now.”
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Cory Anderson claims Bellator has better Light Heavyweights than UFC
Anderson conveyed, Bellator has shown dexterity in recruitments of Anthony Johnson and Yoel Romero, and with other established fighters already thriving in the category, the scene in Bellator’s Light-Heavyweight division is getting better and better.
“These last two signings they made definitely made it a stronger case. At first, I was in the UFC, and I was No. 4 when I left. The only person I hadn’t fought was Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes. I had beat Jan Blachowicz once, and Anthony Smith was above me, but we see where Anthony Smith’s at now. He just got his first win in a while against an unranked guy.
“Then you’ve got me, Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, Yoel Romero, two guys right there that fought for titles. Me, who was on the cusp of a title. Then you’ve got Nemkov, who just beat Ryan Bader. You’ve got ‘Rumble,’ who beat Ryan Bader, you’ve got Phil Davis. You’ve got all these names who have already fought at the top of the UFC.”
“It’s big names coming,” Anderson said. “That’s just making the legitimacy of Bellator, not just at 205, but the promotion with the moves they’re making, period. It makes them look very legit.
‘They were some of the best in the world’
Anderson also expressed his views on the mass cut-outs the UFC made lately and said he feels the concerned fighters still had lots to showcase and were forced to leave.
“The UFC are cutting ties with a lot of people, letting a lot of people go, a lot of the people that I feel shouldn’t be let go. That’s just making us stronger over in Bellator. Making us look even better.
“(UFC president Dana White is) always going to say his division’s the best. He’s going to say whatever he has to bag the reason why he had to let these people go, make it seem legit, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you say. World champs or not, they were some of the best in the world.”
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