Athletes
Eryk Anders Is Ready To Answer All Questions
With A Clear Mind And Healthy Body, Eryk Anders Is Entering The Last Chapter Of His Career Full-Steam Ahead
Eryk Anders knows he’s probably going to hear some boos on Saturday night when he steps into New York City’s Madison Square Garden to face one of the Empire State’s most revered warriors in Chris Weidman.
But wait, there’s a plot twist.
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“My mom’s from Staten Island, so I'm from New York by proxy.”
Oh, boy, that’s quite the revelation from the Alabama product, who is excited about fighting in the world’s most famous arena, win, lose, or boos.
“At the end of the day, it’s a fight, but, at the same time, it's one of the most prestigious fighting venues there is, so to have the opportunity to go in there and fight and perform, especially in front of that lively New York crowd, it's definitely on the bucket list.”
That fighting bucket list is getting shorter and shorter for the 37-year-old middleweight, who told us in June of last year that he was going to fight five more times before walking off into the sunset. Shortly after that revelation, he lost a decision to Marc-Andre Barriault that earned him Fight of the Night honors, and in March, he defeated Jamie Pickett.
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That’s two. That means three to go. But this is a fight against a former world champion, one Anders admits is “a huge fight.” So if he wins it, does he alter his plan and look at this as the start of something? Nope, he’s doubling down on what he said in 2023.
“I’m only going to fight three more times,” he said. “This would be one of the three. And two more times after this. So I don't think so. But it's still a fun fight, so I'm really looking forward to that.”
At this point, you have to take Anders at his word, and he’s always been a straight shooter about the fight life and his place in it. So while his September revelation that he wasn’t exactly living a Spartan life outside of the Octagon was a surprise, it wasn’t a surprise that he owned up to his shortcomings.
“Well, to be honest, I was going to court for a custody dispute for my kid,” said Anders. “Obviously, I knew that they would drug test us, so I stopped. Then the court date kept getting pushed back and so I stayed three months, it turned to six months to however long, and then I was just like, this is actually what it feels like to have a clear mind, body, and soul. So I liked the way I felt. I liked the way my life was going, everything about it. And to clear things up, I wasn't sitting with a needle in my arm under a bridge or nothing like that. I was just partying a lot, chasing women, drinking, smoking, all that stuff. But now, I'll have a drink every now and again, but that's about it.”
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It's a positive development for Anders the fighter, the father, and the man. That commitment to clean living will stick with him long after he hangs up the gloves. But while he’s still wearing them, there is the belief that a fighter talking about retirement already has one foot out the door. Anders disputes that notion, at least in his case.
“Nah, I'm training hard,” he said. “I'm putting in work and I'm training just like this is my first fight in the UFC.”
Ironically, that first fight in the UFC took place in New York, as he made an immediate impact with a first-round knockout of Rafael Natal in Long Island in July of 2017. So fighting at MSG is almost full circle for “Ya Boi,” but he’s not planning on making this weekend’s bout his last. It’s just the third on his five-fight exit plan.
“I think I'm sticking to it, man,” he said. “I ain't no spring chicken. We'll see, though.”
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So you’re telling me there’s a chance? I know I’m not alone in seeing what a clean, clear and healthy Eryk Anders looks like in the Octagon. Especially since he did a pretty good job on fight night when that wasn’t always the case.
“That's the thing, I did a really good job of lying to myself,” Anders admits. “I never missed training. I was never late to training. But how much can you possibly put into this and are you really training at a hundred percent if you're hungover or you're just walking in from a night out? Obviously, it's not possible to get the most out of yourself and the training session. So then when you go fight, you didn't get the most out of the whole camp. So it was just kind of a lie. And I've been doing that since college. How much better would I have been in college had I stayed inside?”
The what ifs will never be answered. But the future is wide open, and Anders can’t wait to attack it, both in and out of the Octagon.
UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic took place live from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on November 16, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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