Pat Miletich: UFC-Belem is Eryk Anders' opportunity to 'let everyone know he's here to stay'

Eryk Anders has the biggest opportunity of his young MMA career right in front of him.

On Saturday night in Belem, Brazil, Anders (10-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will face former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (22-8 MMA, 14-8 UFC) with the chance to thoroughly announce his arrival as a middleweight threat in the FS1-televised UFC Fight Night 125 headliner. And it comes just two-and-a-half years ago after Anders made his professional debut.

This is the matchup Anders called for after his last win, and it presents the classic story line of youth vs. experience that UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich has witnessed time and time again.

“This sport, it’s a constant revolving door of young guys having their names built off the backs of some beaten older guys,” Miletich recently told MMAjunkie. “Will Machida come out and be the old Machida? I don’t know that he’s capable of doing it against Anders. He’s an amazing martial artist, but this is a great chance for Anders to beat a former champ and let everyone know that he’s here to stay.”

Miletich, who works as a commentator for LFA on AXS TV, knew of Anders before calling two of his fights last year. A big college football fan, Miletich watched him shine as a linebacker at the University of Alabama, where he helped lead the Crimson Tide to a national championship in 2009.

For his efforts inside the cage last year, Anders, 30, was named MMAjunkie’s “Under-the-Radar Fighter of the Year.” He went 4-0 in 2017, winning the inaugural LFA middleweight title before his successful UFC debut just one month later, knocking out Rafael Natal in the first round. A follow-up dominant decision over UFC newcomer Markus Perez in December at UFC 123 closed out Anders’ impressive year.

Which brings us to Machida, who represents a giant leap in stature and caliber of opponent, even if the 39-year-old “Dragon” is on the downswing of his great career. Another dominant performance on this biggest stage yet would do wonders to propel Anders.

Do that, and a star could be in the making, which is a role Miletich believes Anders is well prepared to handle.

“That’s a guy that’s been under pressure, (played for a) national championship, big-time football,” Miletich said. “He’s a guy that’s done a ton of media, already had that preparation through his college career. You can just tell genetically, work ethic, intelligence, he’s the complete package.”

“When you watch him, he stands out – the way he performs,” Miletich continued. “A lot of people are not recognizable because they go out, they’re maybe nervous about losing, not wanting to go out on a limb. He’s there to fight. He’s there to wreck people. He’s there to win, period. In my mind, I think he’s already kind of becoming a household name to a certain extent.”

To fully realize it, though, Anders will have to beat Machida. The way Miletich sees it, Anders will keep pressure on Machida, who is a great counter-striker. But …

“Anders is so strong, and he’s so durable. And I’ve seen him take some monster shots and just walk right through it smiling,” Miletich said. “Unless it’s a front kick to the chin or a round kick to the head type of thing, I don’t know if Machida can necessarily hurt him to be honest with you. And Anders is strong enough that when he gets a hold of Machida, he could put him on his back and rough him up pretty bad.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 125, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.