Vancouver, Canada — Middleweight Marc-Andre Barriault came away from UFC 289, the promotion’s return to Canada, with a hard-fought decision win against Eryk Anders that earned the pair Fight of the Night honors at the Rogers Arena on Saturday.
“I’m so happy. I’m so proud of myself,” Barriault said following the bout, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press. Noting that he had been asking for the fight with Anders for a long time, the Quebec native added “I think that tonight I proved that I can be a smarter fighter, I can be better everywhere. Like my coaches said, just trust yourself, trust all your tools, all your instincts. Tonight I proved a lot, and I can’t complain.”
There were some battles in the clinch throughout that eventually had Barriault opting to spend some time at distance, something the “Power Bar” also reflected on.
“It’s my bread and butter, the clinch normally, but tonight I felt like he was strong in the clinch. I feel like maybe he had the edge a couple times, because my back was against the cage when he clinched me. But yeah, that’s why I tried to circle out, just take the middle of the cage and do my thing with my reach, my kicks, just let everything go and be more smart, more precise.”
In a former life, Marc-Andre Barriault worked as a cook, and told Cageside Press just what his go-to food to impress someone is.
“I really like to cook some seafood, because where my dad’s from, it’s more like a lot of seafood — lobster, shrimp, everything,” said Barriault. “Yeah, I like shrimp.”
And knuckle sandwiches, Barriault’s coach added, eliciting a laugh.
Watch the full UFC 289 post-fight media appearance by Marc-Andre Barriault above.
