Top contenders of light heavyweight division unimpressed by Corey Anderson’s KO win at UFC 244
UFC light heavyweight, Corey Anderson, earned one of the most impressive knockout victories of his career at UFC 244.
Anderson was scheduled to take on a surging contender in Johnny Walker on the featured preliminary fight on ESPN. Since his introduction to the UFC last year, Walker has finished all three of his opponents by way of knockout and was expected to keep his win streak alive with yet another stoppage.
Unfortunately for Walker, he stood across from a very motivated Anderson, who was hoping to make a statement by being the first man to hand Walker a loss inside the UFC Octagon. And he did.
At the beginning of the fight, Anderson pressed forward and clinched with Walker. As the two separated, Anderson dropped Walker with a right hand and tried to go in for the finish. Walker slightly recovered from the attack, but not before getting blasted with several punches that clearly hurt him again and the referee had no choice but to step in and stop the fight in the first round.
Anderson celebrated the win and reminded everyone about the “levels” there are in this game, which appeared to be a reference to the talk of Walker becoming a title challenger before him. Anderson has been trying to get his shot at current UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones for a while now, but the fight has yet to materialize despite his best efforts.
Although Anderson seemingly put the division on notice, some of its top contenders were left unimpressed. For starters, the aforementioned Jones chimed in with a few social media posts directed at both Anderson and Walker.
So much for the early Christmas present. This is exactly why I just let them light heavyweight do all the talking.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) November 3, 2019
Yeah just like Izzy, I don’t get impressed too quickly. I’ve been around way too long, I’ve seen a lot of people come and go https://t.co/JgIglDVzDH
— BONY (@JonnyBones) November 3, 2019
Jones has been considering a fight with Walker if he was to get past the elite competition at light heavyweight but with this setback, he may have just missed out on the opportunity.
Jan Blachowicz did not seem to understand what all the hype was about regarding Anderson stopping Walker because he saw it as an “easy fight”. Blachowicz recently captured the No. 5 ranking in the division after knocking out Luke Rockhold at UFC 239. The performance was viewed as enough to warrant a title shot for the Polish fighter, and he agreed, which is why he has been calling to get it before anyone else. It should come as no surprise that Blachowicz is brushing off the performances of both Anderson and Walker.
Nothing surprising, easy fight.
— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) November 3, 2019
Former title challenger, Anthony Smith, went all-in with his response to the fight and directed his attention to Anderson, who he has had issues with for quite some time. Smith and Anderson have exchanged words about one another throughout various interviews, and a fight between them has been teased but never made. According to Smith, the UFC will be sending Anderson a contract for a fight against him and he hopes it gets signed this time.
https://twitter.com/lionheartasmith/status/1190808088481337346
With there being no shortage of contenders at light heavyweight right now, it will be interesting to see who Anderson gets in his next outing after the spectacular performance at UFC 244.
