Light Heavyweights
Eryk Anders (11-3) vs. Khalil Rountree (7-3)Advertisement
The UFC has two talented light heavyweight prospects who have not developed much under it watch, so as per usual, the promotion has just decided to smash them together. Anders had a breakout 2017, showing some potential in winning his first two UFC fights, but calling out Lyoto Machida after an uninspiring win over Markus Perez may have been the worst thing to ever happen to him. Because the UFC was faced with no better options for a main event in Machida’s hometown of Belem, Brazil, Anders got exactly what he asked for and lost a five-round fight in which the lack of depth in his game was exposed. That has not changed much over the course of the last year. Anders is an excellent athlete with solid power and a natural feel for fighting, but he strikes with a frustrating low output and his wrestling seems to be a case of strength over technique. Anders managed to narrowly win a bounce-back fight against Tim Williams thanks to a come-from-behind knockout, but having already been established as a main eventer, the UFC threw him back into tough fights against Thiago Santos and Elias Theodorou. A full-time move to a thinner light heavyweight division should be more forgiving in the long run, but the UFC’s matchmaking is not letting up, as Anders draws a dangerous opponent in Rountree.
Rountree had a ton of hype coming into his season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and lived up to it in moments. When he gets going, Rountree has a frightening amount of knockout power, but he also showed off the weaknesses in his game, losing twice over the course of the season, almost exclusively due to his terrible defensive wrestling and grappling. That latter point continued to be a problem for Rountree in the early parts of his UFC career, but at a certain point, the promotion just decided to slot him in against fellow strikers and let things sort themselves out. From there, it has mostly been Rountree either winning fights early or gassing out and losing late. After gaining some momentum with a win over Gokhan Saki, Rountree gave it all back by getting blown out against Johnny Walker. Rountree might figure it out at some point, but for now, he seems destined to remain fun but flawed.
This is a hard one to call. In broad strokes, it is an easy fight to break down: Either Rountree’s power is enough to dispatch Anders early, or Anders survives and manages to take over with better cardio and wrestling. Anders has proven he can take a beating, as he did against Santos before finally breaking down, so things should favor the former University of Alabama linebacker. At the same time, Anders’ low-output and not particularly pressure-heavy style is exactly the type of matchup that can make Rountree comfortable and give him the opening to a victory. Still, Anders’ toughness should see him through and Rountree is an abysmal enough wrestler that Anders might start grinding this out early. From there, while Anders is not a conditioning machine himself, Rountree should gas out much faster. The pick is Anders via third-round stoppage.
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