Kicking off the UFC 289 Pay-Per-View card was a middleweight match-up between Canada’s Marc-Andre Barriault, and former LFA champ (and not to mention Calgary Stampeders linebacker) Eryk Anders.
Both fighters came in off wins in their most recent bouts, and both most certainly had the power in their hands to make this an early night.
The fight started out quickly, with Barriault dropping Anders with a right hand and landing some nasty elbows against the cage. Anders started answering with elbows of his own, but they were returned again by Marc. Anders lands some huge right hands and knees in the clinch in a fast-paced first round. Both fighters were landing well and efficiently in the clinch, which led to Anders trying to use his wrestling. This round came to a close with both fighters looking winded after the crazy pace they fought at.
Surprisingly, round two starts, and both fighters continue the pace they had in the first round. Anders had gone for another takedown and had been unsuccessful on every takedown attempt thus far in the fight. Anders continued pushing the pace, landed some nice left hands, and finally landed his first takedown of the fight. Barriault was able to get up and then immediately landed a groin shot at Anders, which happened because he was trying to throw a knee. The fighters got back to action, and Anders immediately landed a clean left hand that stunned Marc. Marc landed some nice body kicks and jabs throughout the round. This round ended after another high-pace round that was back and forth, but Anders seemed to land the cleaner shots in round 2.
The third and final round is a place no one expected these two to be at this point, but both fighters come out of the gate landing. Barriault seemed to find a home for the body kicks to slow down Anders pressure. They did some more work in the clinch, with Barriault landing some beautiful right hands. Anders was 1/10 on takedowns halfway through the third round. With a minute left in the fight, Barriault and Anders were landing some big shots and trading to end the round in what was an absolute barn burner.
Both fighters set a high pace from the beginning and never stopped for all three rounds. They both hurt each other and landed some nasty shots in the clinch. The judges ended up scoring the fight 30-27 in favor of Marc-Andre-Barriault, a huge victory for him.
Official Result: Marc-Andre Barriault def. Eryk Anders via Unanimous Decision (30-27×3)
