Eryk Anders On His KO Win At UFC Minneapolis, Mental Strength & The Future

Eryk Anders was last seen in action at UFC Fight Night Minneapolis, defeating Vinicius Moreira by first round knockout.

Despite having been a professional MMA fighter for nearly four years now, one thing Anders knows is that his love for the sport continues to grow.

“Absolutely man, more than ever. It’s a rough sports of course, everybody knows that. Man you know, my love for this sport continues to grow. The more I travel, the more I train. I’m gonna be here for awhile,” says Anders in an exclusive interview with Fightful’s Harry Kettle.

Anders has won just one of his last four, with that victory over the aforementioned Moreira ending the competitor’s three bout losing streak.

Weight cutting is a hot topic in the MMA world right now, but Anders looks at fighters like Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos, who moved from middleweight to light heavyweight, as a good example of what happens when somebody doesn’t cut too much weight.

“It’s your body, you know it. I think for guys like Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos, it was the right move to make. If you watch their fights, they’re more durable at 205. You watch Thiago Santos get knocked out by David Branch with one punch, then he gets into a dog fight with me…Jon Jones…Jimi Manuwa. These guys, when they cut less weight…I don’t know how they were cutting weight before. Their more durable, they can take more. Thiago Santos, when he TKO’s Anthony Smith, it all started with a body shot. Everybody is different, I think I’m just as durable at 205 as I am at 85…guys don’t hit as hard at 85. I’m probably more durable at 85, that’s just me personally. Everybody’s different, you gotta do what’s best for you,” says Anders.

The fighter has competed at both middleweight and light heavyweight in the UFC, holding an overall record of 4-4-0 in the promotion.