INGLEWOOD, Calif. — He used to call himself “Beastin’ 25/8.” Nowadays he wants to be known as “Overtime.”
Whatever you wish to call him, Corey Anderson is one tough out in the UFC light heavyweight division, as Ilir Latifi found out on Saturday night at UFC 232.
Anderson, “The Ultimate Fighter 19” winner, shook off a slow start in the opening round and won the endurance battle and therefore the fight at The Forum. The judges’ scores in the main card bout were 29-28 across the board for a unanimous decision.
Latifi, a teammate of Alexander Gustafsson in Sweden, had his best round in the opening frame. He pushed the pace, landed solid combos to the head and body, and neutralized Anderson’s wrestling game.
By the second, though, he was winded, and it was Anderson’s turn to dictate the tempo. Anderson started moving forward and landing big shots, and when Latifi did land, he wasn’t able to follow up.
The final round was a bit closer, but Anderson was again the one who was more active, and a pair of hard punches to the face in the final minute gave the judges a strong visual at the end.
“In the second round, everyone knows I can keep going,” Anderson said. “I went back to my corner after the round and they said ‘give me the Corey we know,’ and that’s what I did.”
Anderson (12-5) has now won three in a row; Latifi (14-5, 1 NC) had a two-fight win streak snapped.