Corey Anderson tops Karl Moore for Bellator light heavyweight title

Corey Anderson can finally officially call himself champion.

Anderson (18-6) won the vacant Bellator MMA light heavyweight title on Friday, defeating Irish challenger Karl Moore (12-3) by unanimous decision. The 205-pound bout marked a new era at Bellator, as it was the first event in its renamed Bellator Champions Series, following last year's merger with PFL. The event took place at the SSE Arena, Belfast.

For Anderson, it was his third attempt at winning the Bellator title. He beat former champion Vadim Nemkov in a title fight in 2022, before it ended in a no-contest due to an accidental headbutt. He then lost to Nemkov by decision in an immediate rematch later that year. He has never fought for a UFC title, despite going 10-5 from 2014 to 2020.

“We finally did it,” Anderson said immediately after the victory. “Mom, we made it. We didn't give up. We got here.”

All three judges scored a decisive victory for Anderson, awarding him scores of 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46. The 34-year-old relied almost exclusively on his wrestling advantage, knocking out Moore at least once in each of five rounds and scoring points from top position. He landed several good shots here and there, but his obvious goal was to fight.

Moore did a good job of getting back to his feet at times, and he neutralized Anderson's wrestling during several long standoffs along the fence. He stunned Anderson with a left hand and left head kick in the first round, and threatened more with left hands in the later rounds. But Anderson always found a way to slow things down when he needed to with his grappling.

While a new champion was crowned in the main event, a very familiar one defended his throne in the co-main event. Two-time featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull (36-7) fended off Canadian title challenger Jeremy Kennedy (19-4) in a third-round TKO victory.

After a measured start, Pitbull faced adversity in the third round when he was dropped by a Kennedy left hook to the chin. Kennedy tried to put him away, but Pitbull recovered well and hurt Kennedy later in the round with a right hand. Kennedy didn't fall but he backed up against the fence, where Pitbull unloaded a barrage of body strikes and headed to close out the show.

This was Pitbull's first win since December 2022. He lost to bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis last year in an effort to move up in weight and win another championship. He then lost to Chihiro Suzuki in a short notice fight at a cross promotional event in Japan in July. After the victory, Pitbull brought in 27-year-old competitor Aaron Pico.