A light heavyweight contest between Eryk Anders and Darren Stewart is taking place now (Saturday, June 12, 2021) on the UFC 263 prelims.
Round 1
Both fighters are light on their feet early on as they feel each other out in this rematch. Anders counters with a left as Stewart attempts a leg kick. Stewart continues to pepper Anders with leg kicks but finds himself getting backed up against the fence. Stewart clinches him up against the cage as Anders seemingly looked for a fight-ending strike. Not a lot of action in this clinch sequence as the fans started to boo. Anders reverses with Stewart against the cage now. Stewart connects with a big knee to the midsection of Anders before tripping him to get the takedown. Anders lands some strikes from the bottom including some elbows. A forgettable round.
10-9 to Stewart.
Round 2
Anders comes out a bit more aggressive. He receives a leg kick but lands a left. He looks to land another but finds himself in the clinch again. Stewart lands a couple good knees to the stomach. However, it’s more of the same as the first round. Referee Jason Herzog separates them. Stewart lands another leg kick while Anders counters with a takedown attempt. However, Stewart defends and reverses the position. They eventually separate. Anders connects with a big left but once again, both fighters find themselves in the clinch. They separate and Anders looks to connect with some strikes. He goes for a takedown but Stewart defends and we have another clinch position. They separate but clinch again with Anders landing a knee. Anders seems to have connected as they separate. The round ends. This is far from what their first fight was.
I give that to Anders. 19-19.
Round 3
There’s more striking early on in this third round but nobody has connected with a major strike. Stewart takes Anders down but Anders scrambles and finds himself on top. He moves to side control but goes back to half guard as he controls Stewart for a good portion of this final round. Anders looks to move to full mount. He starts to land some strikes as Stewart appears helpless. Stewart sits up but Anders starts teeing off on him. Stewart survives as the fight ends.
I score that 29-28 to Anders.
Official result: Eryk Anders defeats Darren Stewart via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27).
Check out the highlights below:
Ya Boi POURING IT ON to end RD 3️⃣@ErykAnders #UFC263 pic.twitter.com/cCtPsNRzqU
— UFC (@ufc) June 13, 2021
Settles it the second time around! 🙌@ErykAnders secures the UD from the judges at #UFC263.
[The prelims continue on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/63v9bK3lKE
— UFC (@ufc) June 13, 2021
