With an impeccably timed head kick, Eryk Anders absolutely crushed Tim Williams in the third round of their middleweight contest at UFC Lincoln.
Eryk Anders was back in the octagon at UFC Lincoln, looking to bounce back from his first career loss, to Lyoto Machida earlier this year. Having narrowly lost a split decision to ‘The Dragon,’ Anders was hoping for a more dominant performance in Nebraska on Saturday night. Opposite him in the cage: Tim Williams, a.k.a. ‘The South Jersey Strangler.’
While Anders would slowly, methodically press forward early in this middleweight contest, it was Williams firing off a few high kicks who really landed first. A head kick, in particular, seemed to get Anders’ attention. Williams would late initiate a clinch, driving Anders into the fence, until the former football player pushed free. Leg kicks from Williams, however, were doing their job, nearly tripping Anders up at one point. Williams then fired off a 1-2 combo, though it was still Anders pressing forward. Towards the end of the round, Williams changed levels and took the Alabama native down after Anders defended with a guillotine. The clock wound down before Williams could really threaten with anything, however.
Eryk Anders once again walked Tim Williams down to open the second round. The high right kick was still there for Williams, while Anders needed avoid the takedown as well as worry about the kick. Williams, however, had his opponent down within ninety seconds, only for Anders to power up. ‘The South Jersey Strangler’ would try to take the back, but was denied by Anders, who would soon move in with some heavy left hands. Several of those landed, then a knee, and Williams was bloodied. Anders seemed to be opening up, letting loose with uppercuts; Williams then shot for a takedown only to be stuffed by Anders, who was showing renewed confidence. Along the fence, Anders connected again, even throwing a spinning back fist coming out of a clinch. More lefts by Anders connected by the end of the round, and the momentum had certainly shifted.
BIG left from @ErykAnders drops Williams! #UFCLincoln pic.twitter.com/TChEQhiLrC
— UFC (@ufc) August 26, 2018
The third round opened with Anders and Williams likely tied one round a piece. A straight left by Anders almost immediately dropped his opponent. Williams would try to lure Anders into his guard, but Anders forced him to stand up. Williams would recover, landing a right hand of his own, which didn’t seem to slow Anders any despite connecting clean. Anders then fought off another takedown attempt, connecting with a glancing head kick immediately after stuffing Williams. In the final thirty seconds, Williams could graze Anders with a spinning back fist. Anders then answered with a knockdown, and as Williams was getting up, Anders unleashed a nasty head kick that connected with perfect timing. Williams’ hand was up, making him legal to kick, and the blow instantly ended his night!
Eryk Anders def. Tim Williams by knockout (head kick), Round 3, 4:42
