While Corey
Anderson isn’t fretting about his missed trilogy clash against
Vadim
Nemkov, “Overtime” is hoping for an opportunity to make things
right down the line.
Nemkov vacated the Bellator
MMA light heavyweight title earlier this year in favor of a
full-time move to heavyweight, robbing Anderson (17-6) of the
opportunity to avenge his loss. Anderson now will fight surging
light heavyweight contender Karl Moore
(12-2) for the vacant strap in the main event at
Bellator 302 on March 22 at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern
Ireland.
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While Anderson would have preferred to face Nemkov for the title
once again, winning the belt is a priority for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship alum. Anderson hasn’t lost all
hope of avenging his loss to Nemkov though, keeping the door open
for a matchup at both light heavyweight and heavyweight.
“I’m disappointed in the fact that I don’t get to fight Nemkov
again right now. But the title fight is the title fight, you know,
getting the title is most important to me,” Anderson said during
March 13’s Bellator 302 media call.
“So, I’m not going to cry over spilled milk and worry about that.
We got to handle this business and then maybe in the future, who
knows, maybe he’ll end up coming back down later or I’ll go up
later, whatever it is. Hopefully we get that revenge at some
point.”
Anderson was clearly winning his first clash against Nemkov at
Bellator 227 in April 2022 before an accidental clash of heads
brought the contest to an anticlimactic end. Nemkov went on to
defeat Anderson via a dominant decision in their rematch later that
year. The American admittedly took his training camp for the
rematch a little easy, a mistake he’ll never repeat. Asked about
his upcoming opponent Moore, Anderson said:
“The guy [Moore] got a fight to get the belt. That’s what I think
of him. I mean he’s here for a reason. He has a four-fight win
streak. He’s beat those guys to get to the shot. So, he’s just
another guy in the line. I mean we respect him. Not looking past
anybody. I guess I train every fight, every training camp like I’m
fighting the best man in the world. The one time I didn’t, I paid
for it. That was the last Nemkov fight. I thought I sure had it in
the bag. I took it easy on camp a little bit and it cost me. Never
again. So, every time we go, we are fighting the baddest man in the
world, no matter what. We’re fighting the baddest mofo in the
world. We’re going to be prepared for everything. And that’s it.
Don’t worry about what he is as an opponent. Just worry about what
he’s capable of or what could happen and be ready for anything that
can’t happen.”
Anderson has since bounced back with a split decision win over
fellow UFC veteran Phil Davis at
Bellator 297. Meanwhile, Moore is going into the first Bellator
headliner of his career in his hometown.