The surging Anderson believes a shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship could be close, but the fighter says the UFC wants him to be a needle mover for getting an opportunity at the gold.
“I ended up meeting with the owners of the UFC, and it’s pretty much the same thing they said,” Anderson said to MMA Fighting. “(They said), ‘We’ve got to get the needle moving on you before we can get you any big fights.’ If I do something exciting, my stock will jump, but I’m not that guy. I’m going to do the same old thing that got me here. It didn’t sit well with me, but at the same time, what can I do? I’ve got a contract, I can’t go nowhere, I can’t do nothing else. It’s not like I can boycott. One person ain’t going to do sh*t. It is what it is, (and) I just have to play the hand that’s dealt. I just have to go the Kamaru Usman route and just keep winning. Win, win, win until nobody’s left.”
Anderson is ranked #7 in the UFC Light Heavyweight Division and there are only two fighters ahead of him in the rankings that have yet to get a shot at the 205 pound title.
If there is one thing that Anderson has realized through this whole ordeal with the UFC, it is that he is just an employee of the promotion.
“What about all the fights where I stepped in on short notice?” Anderson said. “(On) two weeks’ notice I went to Germany. I stepped up multiple times and still went out there and won, and he says some sh*t like this? All this time I’ve been a yes man for the company, and you’re going to say that? That’s when I realized this is just a business. I’m just a number to them. I’m employee No. 3,467. I’m not a Jon Jones, I’m not a Conor McGregor. Guys like us, we’ve just got to step up to the plate when they call us and do what they ask and get it done.”
UFC 244 takes place on Saturday, November 2 from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York with Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
