Light heavyweight prospect and former Ultimate Fighter winner Corey Anderson had a rough night at the office Saturday. In the main event of UFC Fight Night 107 in London, Anderson was quickly dispatched by the heavy hands of Jimi Manuwa. It was the second loss in three fights for “Overtime” — but Anderson didn’t let the loss dampen his mood.
Reflecting on his short night, Anderson said that “It didn’t go the way I wanted it to go, but it was a great experience for me.” He then expanded on how he took the loss in stride, and on respecting his opponent, using Manuwa as an example for staying positive:
I respected him as he’s the number four ranked guy. He’s where I’ve got to get to, and that’s what I’ve got to do to get to the top. He’s lost to Rumble and Alex, the two other top guys there. You can’t sit there and beat yourself up and cry about it. You can’t cry over spilt milk. I went to the locker room and told my coach, there ain’t no reason to be upset, you know I’m young. I’m the youngest guy ranked right now I think. Twenty-seven years old, I’ve been in the UFC three years, I’ve been fighting four years shortly.
As for how he bounces back from the loss? Anderson (9–3) feels that size matters. In particular, he sees himself as lacking as far as build is concerned, but noted that a test cut down a weight class showed he wasn’t able to safely make middleweight. Instead, he plans to pack on some muscle before future outings. “Everybody knows I have cardio, now I have to work on building size” he said.
His end goal?
I’m not the best right now, but eventually I will be. I plan on it before I leave this sport.
