UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz is doubling down on two-time opponent Corey Anderson.
Blachowicz had a friend translate from his native tongue of Polish to English, he said Wednesday on The MMA Hour, but his Twitter reaction to Anderson claiming the No. 1 spot at light heavyweight was from the heart, and he explained why he felt that way.
“I just want to put him to the ground, again,” Blachowicz said. “The difference between me and him is when I lost the fight, I don’t quit, because I’m not a quitter. He lost the fight and he quit. He let it go.
“Maybe the pressure was too big for him, and he went somewhere else, to the second league, and now he’s talking, or barking. C’mon, I don’t understand that. Why doesn’t he stay in the UFC? He can renegotiate everything right now, money and stuff like this. No, he’s just a coward and quitter.
“That’s why he’s doing this. Now he’s safe over there, because I’m not over there. ... I think that’s why he started barking.”
This past Saturday at Bellator 268, Anderson secured his shot at the Bellator light heavyweight title and a $1 million payout offered to the winner of the promotion’s light heavyweight grand prix. With several ranked fighters in the brackets, Bellator chief Scott Coker opined the tourney victor would be the best light heavyweight in the world, and Anderson went one step further to say he was already there.
Blachowicz picked up over 22,000 likes for his forceful rebuttal, writing of the Bellator fighter, “maybe I’ve punched him too hard” in a 2020 knockout win that avenged a 2015 decision loss.
Hold up... So a guy who bolted from the UFC after I've slept him and almost made him retire, got a couple of wins in the 2nd league and claims he is the best?
— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) October 18, 2021
Maybe I've punched him to hard... No class in win or defeat Corey. There's levels to this. ♂️
Anderson said his move to Bellator was a lucrative choice that paid him more in two fights than his entire UFC career. He also touted more control over his destiny, less politics behind the scenes, and respect shown to him by Coker.
Blachowicz brushed aside Anderson’s claim of better pay.
“So he’s got a bad manager, I don’t know,” he said. “He tells everything. But anyway, before he goes to sleep, he knows he’s a quitter and a coward, because he left the champion’s league.”
That said, Blachowicz did watch Anderson’s most recent performance, a quick stoppage of former two-division Bellator champ Ryan Bader in the grand prix semifinals. The UFC champ is a fan of MMA and gave Anderson praise for his performance.
He just doesn’t want the Bellator fighter to forget who’s the boss.
“Corey, congratulations, great job, but anyway, you escaped from the UFC,” Blachowicz said. “So that’s it.”
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