Issue 182

September 2019

Eryk Anders talks of everything from sparring with Ngannou to appearing on Topps cards.

This fight against Vinicius Moreira at UFC Minneapolis had to be a sweet one. I imagine that went pretty much exactly to plan?

Once that bell rang I just planned on being myself. I wanted to use relentless pressure, use a lot of volume and I got that first-round knockout. It felt amazing.

You started your UFC career blazing then you ran into Lyoto Machida. It was a main event fight in Brazil against the legend that is Lyoto. That was a tough spot. What are your takeaways from that experience?

Regardless of the outcome I had a blast. It was fun to get in there and go toe to toe with a legend of the sport like Machida. I don’t really believe in moral victories or anything like that but I think if that fight is fought on different soil that I come out of there with a victory. I think he was trying to survive and I was definitely pushing the pace and trying to finish the fight. I did a lot of chasing in that fight. I really didn’t cut off the ring. I used poor footwork. When I had him rocked, which I did several times, every time I connected flush I could see his eyes roll to the back of his head. Instead of stepping back and peppering him with more punches I engaged in the wrestling and the grappling when that wasn’t really the thing to do.

In your previous two fights you fought an absolute legend and one of the great rising stars of the sport in their respective back yards in Brazil. That’s really tough going back to back. Do you feel like you got thrown into the deep end of the pool really quickly?

I really don’t think it’s enemy territory for me. It’s a hostile environment for sure. The Brazilian community has an Eryk Anders fan base there. My wife is Brazilian. I speak the language a little bit. I try to take two or three trips there each year. I am very familiar with the country and the people and the culture. It’s an awesome environment to fight in. They are screaming that you are going to die on your way to the cage. For me, I love it. It’s just a different challenge and that is why I got into the sport in the first place. I wanted to challenge myself. I didn’t want any easy fights or an easy way out.

You just snapped that three-fight skid we keep talking about. You jumped back and forth between middleweight and light heavyweight a bit. Are you set at one weight class or are you going to take opportunities in both weight classes after this win?

Hey, I just answer the phone and sign the contract. Whoever they put in front of me is who I am fighting. I am really easy to deal with. I think for my future and getting to the belt, which I know I can get to, I think middleweight is the route for me. But at the same time, I love fighting and I love competing. I can definitely fight and compete more often at 205 because I don’t have to cut the weight but I am cool anywhere.

You definitely aren’t from the Kawhi Leonard load management school of thought. This was your eighth UFC scrap in just under two years. You really are the guy that answers the phone. Where does that mindset and that willingness to take on that workload stem from?

Man, I ain’t getting any younger. I am 32. I honestly feel like I am in the best shape of my life. I know a lot of guys say that. I truly believe it. My body feels better than it has ever felt. While I am still enjoying my youth and I am able-bodied I want to get in there and compete and make as much money as possible. It will be smooth sailing here before long.

You spent time working with legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach. You went to Xtreme Couture and worked with the great folks there. Can you talk about the mentality of putting rounds on rounds in the lead-up to this fight?

I have been a little bit of everywhere and done a little bit of everything. When I first started in the game I didn’t have any MMA experience at all. So, I have to get in as much as I can when I can. Every time I travel for any reason I am always looking for a new gym or somewhere to train. I am always looking for a new look. There are always different training partners, different bodies and different coaching philosophies, so I can take from this guy or this girl and take it and make my own cornucopia of technique.

What was the most memorable training session leading up to this particular fight?

When we were at Xtreme Couture, on sparring days they do six rounds and everybody kind of picks who they are going with and what round. I am the new guy. I don’t know too many people. I was just waiting for people to pick me. That was a mistake. They were doing six rounds and I had three of my rounds filled up. Then Francis Ngannou walks over. He asked if I wanted to go round four. I tried to lie to him at first and told him I had all of my rounds filled up. He looked at me like a dad looks at his son when he knows he’s lying. He asked if I really had my rounds filled up. I said no and that we could go round four. So, round four comes along and it’s MMA sparring. We get to moving around and I could see that he is super confident. He’s bouncing back and forth. His hands are low. I thought he was feeling himself a little too much. I’m not even saying he’s a malicious dude. I think he is a gentle giant and a really friendly dude.

He’s really nice. He’s not looking to hurt anybody but man, he’s 6’ 5” and 275 pounds. Whether he means to or not, his hands are heavy. I shot a single leg. He didn’t even sprawl. He just king of leaned over me. Man, he was just so heavy. I pulled guard, like half guard. His arms are so long. He went over my head so my head was in his armpit. I got wrist control. I tried rocking him back and forth. He was just feeding me body shots the whole time.

After the round he looked at me and said “Oh, you thought it was going to be easy on the ground?’ I was like ‘No, man. I didn’t. I had to choose the lesser of two evils. I have a career and I don’t need to be taking beatings in the gym.’ I played it safe. I took the lesser of two evils. It was either be on bottom and take body shots or run the risk of taking one to the teeth. That’s not what I was looking to do. Especially with little gloves, I think I made a wise decision. I have all of my teeth. I don’t have a concussion and I am here to tell the tale.

What fighters do you enjoy watching right now?

I certainly enjoy Donald Cerrone and Tony Ferguson. How could anyone possibly miss that fight? Those guys encompass the sport. I find myself with that Donald Cerrone mindset. Just send the contract. It doesn’t matter whose name. Just give me the date. I’m there. There aren’t too many fighters in the UFC that are like that. It’s not an act. I think both him and I are very genuine. We just love the sport and love to fight…and we like to do it a lot. Tony Ferguson, man, he is going to take it to some dark places. He pushes the pace, pushes that cardio and is very unorthodox. Valentina Shevchenko is also one of my favorite fighters. She is so talented. You see her at the PI and she is just always training. She really encompasses what it means to be an MMA fighter. Her body of work is a result of that. Those are just a few. I respect and admire everyone that steps in that cage and throws down. It’s not easy to get in there and risk harm and injury. It takes a lot of guts to get in there and do that.

You recently posted on Instagram of you signing your very first Topps cards. You said ‘Work until your signature becomes an autograph.’ It clearly has now. At one point you thought your rookie card would be in NFL packs but to have it in UFC packs of cards has to be a cool thing. What was that moment like for you?

Man, I can’t even put into words how cool I think it is. One – that someone would think to put my face on a card and two – that someone would want to actually buy that card. I have been doing this since college, for ten to fifteen years. I am forever grateful that people appreciate the work and the effort and the result of my hard work. I don’t even know how to articulate the feelings it gives me, I think it’s really cool that people want my signature and want my autograph and they think it’s cool that I do what I do.