Corey Anderson Thinks He’s at Top of Light Heavyweight Contender Ladder

Corey Anderson just made a strong case for a title shot with a big TKO win over Johnny Walker #UFC244pic.twitter.com/4RkC1rjfIh

— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) November 3, 2019

During a stretch of four fights from 2016 to 2017, Corey Anderson suffered three losses and was cast aside as another young contender not deemed quite good enough for the top of the division.

But in late 2019, things are different and Anderson finds himself in the thick of things regarding the UFC’s light heavyweight title picture. Anderson (13-4) shocked the MMA world on Saturday night in the featured preliminary bout of UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden. “Overtime” only worked a few minutes into his shift and bludgeoned the immensely hyped Johnny Walker, knocking him out in the first round.

Not many MMA insiders expected Anderson to win. Walker was expected to run through the entire 205-pound weight class en route to a dream match with reigning champion Jon Jones next year. But Anderson made sure that wasn’t going to occur anytime soon and rocked the Brazilian with punches. Walker, with gelatinous legs, tried to survive but he was stumbling around the Octagon like a drunkard before the Illinois-based fighter eventually landed one too many shots, forcing referee Kevin MacDonald to intervene at the 2:07 mark.

“I didn’t just stop the hype train, that was a train wreck baby,” a jubilant Anderson exclaimed after what was his biggest win to date. “I said it a million times; they put too much hype on him. There’s levels to this. There’s a reason I have 14 fights [in the UFC]. I’ve lost to the best, but then I came back and beat the best. He hadn’t been there, and I had to show everybody what’s up.”

Anderson certainly did. The Kennel Fight Club product had won three in a row coming into Saturday’s bout against high-level opposition, but virtually nobody expected him to wreck Walker the way he did. Now he’s right near to the top of the light heavyweight mountain.

“The way I just finished him, I have to be at the top of the title discussion,” he said. “I didn’t get touched once and I didn’t let him get off any of that spinning stuff. One punch landed and it was over.”

Does Anderson deserve a crack at “Bones” and his world title? The initial response would be no, but “Overtime” made such a resounding statement inside “Mecca of Boxing” on Saturday that it’s hard to ignore it.

“Now I can say, I deserve the title shot,” he said. “I’m the only one in the top 10 that has beat two Top 5 guys. Dominick Reyes got Chris Weidman. Chris is my man, but he wasn’t on the up and up. Glover Teixeira fought Jon Jones, Ilir Latifi is a powerhouse and I set records on Pat Cummins. I beat them all.”

Since he took almost no damage from the taller Brazilian knockout artist, Anderson knows when he’d like to fight next, specifically if it’s against Jones.

“Let’s do it at the end of January,” he stated. “I just have some hunting to do, money has already been spent, so we’re going to do that and then take care of the big game.”