Alabama Football Alumni Withdraws From UFC Fight

On Saturday morning, just as his alma mater had their bout changed for the weekend, UFC fighter and former Crimson Tide linebacker Eryk "Ya Boi" Anders had to withdraw from that evening's "UFC Vegas 14" due to health-related concerns.

Anders, who has managed to hold on to a 13-5 record as a pro fighter, was scheduled to take on the 9-3 Brazilian fighter Antonio Arroyo as a main card fight. According to a coach for Anders' opponent, the former BCS National Champion was hospitalized shortly after missing weight for the fight and just hours prior to their final preparations.

As a professional, Eryk Anders only has five losses with each being by judge's decision. In his most previous outing on May 15, 2020 (also a rescheduled event), "Ya Boi" fell to the highly experienced 21-4 Krzysztof Jotko by decision. Prior to this loss, however, the Texas native had won both of his last two fights: the first by knocking out Brazillian Vinicius Moreira (9-2-0) and the second from a judge's decision win over fellow American Gerald Meerschaert (31-14-0).

During his time as a linebacker for the capstone (2006-2009), Anders saw time in 45 games under the direction of Mike Shula and Nick Saban. As a senior, he was apart of the 2009 BCS National Championship that ended Alabama's title "drought" which had lasted nearly two decades (1992).

Even though Eryk Anders grew up in Texas and initially came to Alabama for education and football, the 33-year-old still calls the state home as he trains for the UFC at Spartan Fitness in Homewood, AL.

As mentioned, Anders also had his most previous fight (the loss over Jotko) moved due to health concerns over one of the competitors; however, the makeup date was pushed to just over a month after the initially scheduled bout. With this in mind and barring any further serious ailment or injury, it points to a fair probability that Alabama and UFC fans alike will get to watch Anders' rescheduled fight before the close of 2020.

For more content from J.R. and all the talented interns at Tide 100.9, make sure to tune-in for Tide Tonight - Monday and Wednesday @ 6:00-7:00 pm & Thursday @ 6:00-6:30 PM. You can hear all of our excellent radio content on the new Tide 100.9 app!