Eryk Anders and Darren Stewart will kick off the Main Card of UFC Vegas 21 on Saturday night from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Another big weekend for the MMA leader is headlined by Leon Edwards taking on Belal Muhammad, and as usual, the entirety of the card is full of great fights and Anders vs. Stewart is the type of matchup that could absolutely produce fireworks to kick things off.
Eryk Anders (13-5-0)
Believe it or not, Eryk Anders makes the walk to the Octagon for the 11th time in his UFC career on Saturday night. After bursting onto the scene with back-to-back wins to start his UFC run, Anders was thrust into the spotlight in the Main Event slot opposite the Brazilian legend: Lyoto Machida. Anders was up to the challenge despite the big jump in talent but came up just short on the judges’ scorecards via split decision. Since that night Belem, Brazil, it’s been a battle for “Ya Boi” to find consistency inside the famed UFC Octagon.
Before beginning his fighting career Eryk Anders was already accustomed to the spotlight. He was a star linebacker at the University of Alabama and helped lead the Crimson Tide to the 2009 National Championship. He benefitted from this previous exposure when Dana White and the UFC saw his story as something they could promote and get behind.
After losing that Main Event in Belem, Brazil back in February of 2018 it’s been a struggle for the former football standout to find consistency inside the cage. He’s won just two of his previous five bouts and finds himself on the verge of slipping from relevancy, especially with the coronavirus pandemic forcing the UFC to make some high-profile cuts from the roster.
Should he beat Darren Stewart in exciting fashion at UFC Vegas 21 on Saturday night, Eyrk Anders will likely put himself back on the path toward the top 15 of the UFC’s Middleweight division. Even more importantly he assures himself the opportunity to keep chasing gold in the sports top promotion.
Darren Stewart (12-6-0)
Darren “The Dentist” Stewart entered the UFC in November of 2016 with a perfect 7-0 professional record. He comes into UFC Vegas 21 with a very disappointing 5-6 (1 no contest) record inside the promotion but is fresh off of an impressive split decision loss to rising star Kevin Holland.
While the results haven’t necessarily been what Darren Stewart had hoped, he has had quite a few very good performances against some big names in the Middleweight division. On top of the split decision loss to Holland, Stewart also has a split decision loss to Edmen Shahbazyan (Shabazyan and Holland are ranked #12 and #10 respectively at Middleweight).
He’s one round against either of those men away from being a ranked fighter in the top promotion in the world. The biggest win on his resume to this point comes against once top prospect Deron Winn. Winn entered the UFC amid much fanfare due to the fact he trained with former two-weight world champion Daniel “D.C.” Cormier.
At UFC Vegas 21 Darren Stewart needs to start proving he can be at his best on a consistent basis. If he is able to pick up an exciting win over Anders he may find himself fighting a top 15 opponent in his next bout.
The Matchup
The UFC Vegas 21 Main Card kicks off with Anders vs. Stewart for a reason. This fight has the potential to be the fight of the night without question. Both men love to stand and strike and both have the power to end things with one blow. Stewart is a little more of a patient fighter and may have lost some split decisions because of it, so I expect him to come out and try to ramp up his output. Anders is a fighter who likes to march forward, put his opponent on the back foot, and throw power shots.
The technical boxing advantage likely goes to Stewart while the power almost surely lands on the side of Anders. I think the outcome of this fight largely depends on which man is able to control the center of the cage and strike moving forward. In the small cage at the Apex, whoever can fight moving forward should be able to cut the other off and land some big shots. In the event things do end up on the mat, I believe Stewart is the more polished of the two in the grappling.
Prediction: Darren Stewart will look to be more active than he has in past split decision losses. Both fighters will likely have exciting moments and land some big shots, but the technical striking of Stewart gets it done.
Darren Stewart via Decision
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