Find out who, when and where Rockton's Corey Anderson will fight for the PFL title. It's soon.
After he just waited nearly 16 months in between fights before he pounded on his last opponent earlier this summer, Rockford-area MMA star Corey Anderson now has his Professional Fighters League (PFL) title fight, and he didn't have to wait very long this time.
As part of what the PFL is billing as "a massive championship double-header," its return to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is slated for Oct. 3 and will include Anderson's first title fight as a member of the newly reformed MMA organization. The former Hononegah wrestling star, who went on to greatness in the UFC and with Bellator, won his first bout since PFL took over Bellator with a resounding TKO victory over Denis Goltsov on July 19 in the PFL Champions Series ― Africa.
"Now I'm ready for anything," he said after that. "And I don't want to wait."
Well, he didn't. Less than a month after he handed Goltsov, the former PFL heavyweight champ, his first loss in nearly two years, he already has his next bout. And it's a biggie.
"I want that title," Anderson said just two weeks ago, "and that big payday."
It looks like he got it.
In the co-main event on Oct. 3, Anderson (19-6), the former Bellator light heavyweight champion, will face 2024 PFL Light Heavyweight Tournament Champion Dovlet Yagshimuradov (25-7-1) for the PFL Light Heavyweight World Title. This is a rematch of their 2021 Bellator World Grand Prix Quarterfinal, where Anderson earned a third-round TKO. Anderson went on to capture the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship.
Now, Anderson, 35, resides in Fairland, Indiana, with his two young children and his wife, and he's looking for that big victory.
This could be his chance.
"I'm going to keep giving 'em nightmares," said Anderson, nicknamed 'Overtime.' "Until I'm done."
What else is on the card?
The other rematch that will be a main event in Dubai is Dagestan’s undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov (19‑0, 1 NC) and Ireland’s Paul Hughes (14‑2), who will battle for the PFL Lightweight World Title.
There have also been three early-card bouts confirmed, including a grudge match nearly seven years in the making, as Zubaira Tukhugov (20-6-1) finally faces Artem Lobov (14-15-1) in Dubai. Originally booked to fight in 2018, the matchup was scrapped following the UFC 229 post-fight brawl and subsequent suspensions.
Fans can register for Thursday's pre-sale via this link. The pre-sale will be available before the general sale kicks in on Friday through www.coca-cola-arena.com. The Road to Dubai Finale is scheduled for January, and this October event is "an additional showcase, designed to build momentum," according to a PFL statement.
“PFL Champions Series on Oct. 3 in Dubai will be one of the biggest nights in PFL history,” PFL CEO John Martin said in that statement. “To have two PFL World Titles on the line, featuring four world-class athletes at the top of their game, shows exactly what makes the PFL different."
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at [email protected] and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockton MMA star Corey Anderson already gets his shot at PFL title
Category: General Sports
