Corey Anderson has issued a statement after suffering a decision loss to Vadim Nemkov in last night’s Bellator 288 main event.

Anderson (16-6, 1 NC) rematched Nemkov (16-2, 1 NC) yesterday evening in Chicago, this after an accidental foul saw their first fight end in a no contest.

Corey Anderson had earned his opportunity to fight for Bellator gold after scoring three-straight TKO victories over Melvin Manhoef, Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov and Ryan Bader.

Meanwhile, prior to his no contest with ‘Overtime’, Vadim Nemkov was coming off back-to-back title defenses over Julius Anglickas and Phil Davis. The 30-year-old Russian phenom had initially captured the promotions light heavyweight title with a second-round TKO victory over Ryan Bader at Bellator 244.

Saturday’s ‘Nemkov vs. Anderson’ rematch looked a lot different than their first fight. Vadim Nemkov scored a knockdown late in the opening round and was able to stuff all of Corey Anderson’s takedown attempts (16 total) throughout the course of the five-round affair. After twenty-five minutes of action, the Russian standout was awarded a unanimous decision victory from the judges in attendance.

Official Bellator 288 Result: Vadim Nemkov def. Corey Anderson by unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46 x2)

Shortly following his disappointing setback in last night’s main event title fight, Anderson took to Twitter where he issued the following statement:

Man what a fun battle that was!! Fell short of the goal but had a blast in there going at it with the champ! Hold on to that strap, I appreciate all the love from the crowd! But as always, we will be back better than before on the next one! Thank you @BellatorMMA !#neverquit

— Corey 'Overtime' Anderson (@CoreyA_MMA) November 19, 2022

“Man what a fun battle that was!! Fell short of the goal but had a blast in there going at it with the champ! Hold on to that strap, I appreciate all the love from the crowd! But as always, we will be back better than before on the next one! Thank you” @BellatorMMA! #neverquit“

Who would you like to see Corey Anderson fight in his next Bellator MMA appearance? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!