Power punching prospect, Eryk Anders, will step up on short-notice opposite brutal kicker, Thiago Santos, this Saturday night (Sept. 22, 2018) at UFC Fight Night 137 inside Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
At 31 years old with less than three years as a professional fighter, Anders is in a difficult position. He’s very much a prospect given his current level of ability compared to experience, but Anders doesn’t have a ton of time to develop. He’s already being thrown in the cage with veteran foes, forcing Anders to sink-or-swim. Luckily, “Ya Boi” has done far more of the former than the latter, and he’s actively looking for more opportunities to gain experience in the cage. He jumped at the chance to fly to Brazil on a week’s notice and main event in a new weight class, so it’s time to see what Anders has learned since his last main event slot.
Let’s take a closer look at his skill set:
Striking
With a majority of his wins coming via knockout, it’s clear where Anders likes to compete. The Southpaw has a major physicality edge over most opponents and big-time power in his left hand, making him a very dangerous fighter at close distances. Anders is a definite pressure fighter who stalks his opponent relentlessly, but much of time, he’s looking to counter as they attempt to back him off with strikes.
Anders’ left hand is his money punch, and his usual set up is the pull-cross. As Anders pressures forward, he’s ready to step back and fire at the first sign of a counter. Often, his foe is trying to keep him back with the jab despite not being great with the strike, leaving him vulnerable to the pull counter.
One of the reasons Anders is so effective is that he does a great job of sitting on his back leg. Not only does that allow him to create big power by moving his full weight from the back leg to the front, but it keeps Anders’ head far from the pocket. He’s more difficult to punch as a result, which causes opponents to reach and sets up the pull counter even more. Despite constantly looking for the pull counter, Anders has little fear of leading. He’ll fire a hard one-two combinations down the middle often enough, and Anders will still look to pull and fire if his foe tries to counter Anders’ lead (GIF).
Anders very often mixes takedown feints into his forward pressure, bending at the knees and preparing to explode forward with either a shot or punch. This is an important part of his game, as it really helps keep Anders’ timing unpredictable and help the punch sneak through.
Last time out, Anders was forced into a very competitive kickboxing match with Tim Williams. Unlike many past opponents, Williams did not panic when put on the fence nor over-extend when leading. In fact, he spent most of the first round countering Anders’ aggression, and the prospect was forced to adjust.
The former collegiate football star did just that. Anders stopped reaching for Williams’ head, instead looking to move into the clinch before firing as Williams backpedaled to escape. In addition, Anders found his timing on the left hand counter, repeatedly nailing Williams as the grappler went to kick.
The end finish has little to do with those adjustments, but it was nasty (GIF).
Even aside from that second round adjustment opposite Williams, Anders likes to crash into the clinch after punching. He’s a physical force with strong takedowns, which means the clinch is often a great position. Because of those abilities, Anders can safely finish combinations by falling into the clinch, which will snuff out his opponent’s attempts to counter.
Once there, Anders is a brutally effective fighter. His clinch work is generally simple but powerful, as Anders maintains good head position and finds moments to land knees. Most of the time, he looks to cross frame — use one arm to underhook or overhook, place that hand in the crook of the arm, and use the other forearm to drive into the face — to break his foe’s posture. Any time Anderson can drive his forearm into the side of his opponent’s face, it won’t be long before a knee comes driving toward its target.
Currently, Anders’ biggest issue is that his game is fairly limited. He’s not a particularly diverse striker as shown in his bout with Lyoto Machida. Opposite “The Dragon,” Anders never walked into any crazy counter shot — which is an accomplishment on its own — but he often failed to do anything besides shuffle forward and throw the left. Meanwhile, Machida picked up enough points with body kicks to score the close decision win.
Wrestling
Though he wrestled a bit in high school, Anders’ early years were dominated by football. Luckily, those sports share quite a few common threads, resulting in Anders having a powerful takedown game inside the cage.
From close distance, Anders is a bull. After backing his foe into the fence, Anders likes to drop into the single leg. From there, he tends to finish with a slam, either lifting directly from the level change or using a step back and dump to set up the lift. Not a perfect takedown, but it doesn’t always have to be.
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Opposite Markus Perez, Anders repeatedly used the snatch single to move himself into the clinch. Yanking on the leg often creates the space necessary to transition into a body lock, which is a great position for slams and throws. Anders didn’t always look to complete the takedown from that position, as he’d also maintain the clinch and do damage.
Defensively, Anders is not an easy man to take down or control. That said, taking him down is not an impossible task, as he does leave his hips open and is not an amazingly credentialed wrestler. Against the fence, Anders is not so experienced or athletic that he can fully stop a double leg takedown once his foe is in on his hips.
A bit of inexperience aside, Anders does tend to scramble up very quickly when put on his back. Furthermore, Anders routinely denies just about any takedown that is not well-timed along the fence.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
A Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt, Anders has not shown a ton of his submission grappling inside the Octagon. One of his regional victories came via rear-naked choke, but seeing as that’s probably the simplest submission possible, it doesn’t tell us much either.
Realistically, all we can say so far is that Anders has shown smart top control. Opposite both Perez and (briefly) Natal, Anders avoided submission attempts by keeping good posture and sitting his weight back. Against Perez, he actually used his opponent’s attempts to scramble to hop around the guard, advancing into good position and continuing to do damage.
The bout with Williams did show us a bit more of Anders’ defense. At one point, Williams was able to move into back control, but Anders managed to remain patient and fight hands until the end of the round.
Conclusion
What does this fight mean for Anders? It’s hard to say, given the new weight class and short-notice nature of the bout. At best, it’s a chance for Anders to score a highlight-reel knockout that will advance his career regardless of the division in which he competes. There is also the silver lining that if Anders comes up short, he doesn’t really have anything to lose and will gain some of the experience he still requires.
Andrew Richardson, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, is a professional fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. In addition to learning alongside world-class talent, Andrew has scouted opponents and developed winning strategies for several of the sport’s most elite fighters.