Dana White Discusses Comparisons with Bellator’s LHW Division, Corey Anderson’s Departure

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This past week, Bellator MMA president Scott Coker proudly proclaimed that his organization possessed the best 205-pound talent pool in mixed martial arts.

That statement was based both on pound-for-pound king Jon Jones’ decision to move up to heavyweight in the UFC along with Bellator’s own growing stockpile of fighters at light heavyweight – a stable that now includes recent free-agent signee Corey Anderson.

Not surprisingly, UFC president Dana White isn’t buying it.

“Isn’t he cute?” White said of Coker at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 15 post-fight press conference.

“Everybody they have in their light heavyweight division we let go of. He’s got the best light heavyweight division? We let those guys all go. It’s like the f---ing dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” he later added. “But I get it. He’s got to try to f--ing do his thing. I’m not s---ing on him. He’s got to try to sell fights. The way you don’t sell fights is ‘Oh I’ve got the best light heavyweight division in the world,’ when everybody that was there was let go from here. It’s a pretty silly statement.”

It’s not entirely true that all of Bellator’s top 205-pound fighters are UFC castoffs. Vadim Nemkov, who knocked at Ryan Bader to claim light heavyweight gold in the Bellator 244 headliner on Friday, is essentially a homegrown talent who is building a resume that can match many of the best of the division’s Top 10.

Meanwhile, Anderson’s release earlier this month came as something of a surprise considering “The Ultimate Fighter 19” winner had been victorious in four of his last five fights within the Las Vegas-based promotion. However, a knockout defeat at the hands of Jan Blachowicz in February knocked “Overtime” back significantly in the light heavyweight championship discussion.

Ultimately, White said it was the best decision for all parties involved.

“It’s the right move for him. This isn’t something that we’ve never done before,” White said. “He feels and we feel that he can be more competitive there.”

As for Jones, White didn’t have any additional insight into the former 205-pound king’s future. A move to heavyweight remains imminent, but a timetable is still unclear.

"We’ve been talking to him through the whole thing," White said. "When he’s ready to fight, he’ll let us know."