Bellator 197's Derek Anderson became 'smartest guy in school' during 14-month layoff

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – Derek Anderson is admittedly annoyed by his 447-day layoff ahead of Bellator 197. However, he managed to use his career-long break between fights to do something useful.

Anderson (14-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA), who returns to action at Bellator 197 when he faces Zak Bucia (18-9 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in a 165-pound catchweight, has been itching to fight. He’s had multiple bouts fall apart for various reasons over the past several months, and because of that finding sources of motivation has been a challenge.

Fortunately, Anderson found something to fill the void. Born partly out of financial need, “The Barbaric” chose to return to the classroom and add to his education.

“I went back to school,” Anderson told MMAjunkie. “I’m like, ‘I need a job or something if I’m going to be taking so much time off. Maybe I can get a financial aid check or something.’ So I figured I’d (go back to school), and it would be good for my career anyway. Take some other stuff I’m interested in. It’s nice to earn respect through my physical skills, but no one gives me credit for my mental capacity. It’s cool to go be the smartest guy in school.”

Bellator 197 will take place Friday at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The preliminary-card bout between Anderson vs. Bucia streams on MMAjunkie prior to the main card on Paramount.

Anderson, 28, hasn’t won a fight since August 2016. Between the long layoff and a unanimous-decision loss to Derek Campos at Bellator 170 in January 2017, it’s been a long time since he got his hand raised.

It’s been a rough stretch, but the goal is to return to top form. Anderson has shown flashes of brilliance in the Bellator cage, scoring wins over the likes of Saad Awad, Brandon Girtz and Patricky Freire twice. There’s a burning desire to return to the win column, not only for the glory, but for the money, too.

“I’m going to get a win, I know that,” Anderson said. “It’s not a lightweight fight, so I don’t know what that will do with my ranking or anything. They know I would take out all those guys. I’ve got to get the win regardless. It’s my job. I’ve been waiting for that paycheck, and I’m going to go ahead and take care of business.”

Anderson said he sees Bucia as a winnable fight. He thinks his style matches up well against his fellow American, and he’s targeting a stoppage win inside the distance.

“He’s a grappler mostly, but he looks like he likes to do some muay Thai from the videos I’ve seen and stuff,” Anderson said. “He’s southpaw, and I like to kickbox from southpaw anyway. I know my hands are going to be way better than his anyway. I’m just going to put a hurting on him on the feet, maybe we’ll mess around on the ground, then I’ll finish him off.”

For more on Bellator 197, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.