Corey Anderson ain't mincing words ... telling TMZ Sports the winner of his fight with Vadim Nemkov will without question be the best light heavyweight fighter in the world.
The debate's raged on since 32-year-old Anderson beat former champ, Ryan Bader in just 51 seconds over the weekend ... sending "Overtime" into the Bellator light heavyweight tourney finale against 29-year-old Nemkov.
Fighters like Jan Blachowicz have weighed in ... claiming the worlds best 205 pound fighters reside in the UFC -- not Bellator.