Eryk Anders is on the rise and simply wants to break through.
On Feb. 3, 2018 Anders will take on former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title holder Lyoto Machida. Anders will be in enemy territory, as the bout will take place inside the Arena Guilherme Paraense in Belem, Brazil for UFC Fight Night 125.
Speaking to MMAFighting.com, Anders said he doesn’t expect the fans in Brazil to be aggressive towards him:
“I definitely plan on keeping a low profile. At the same time, the Brazilian fans are pretty passionate so I hope that they’ll understand that it’s not personal, it’s just about business and trying to work my way up the ladder so we’ll see how it goes.”
He went on to say that if he retires “The Dragon,” he won’t treat it as a momentous occasion.
“You know, I’m just the last guy to fight him. If I’m the guy who retired him, I don’t think that I did anything to him that he hasn’t experienced before. I think that he just kind of realized that his chin is gone, his time is up, he can always coach jiu-jitsu, he doesn’t really need fighting probably. So it’s okay to step away from the sport when your body tells you it’s time.”
