Eryk Anders looks to take out Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Tampa and get another fight this year

Following three straight losses, middleweight Eryk Anders made the jump back to light heavyweight and broke his streak with an impressive 78-second TKO of Vinicius Moreira at UFC on ESPN 3 in June.

For Anders, being able to prove he’s a capable fighter at multiple weight classes was just as big to him as getting his first win in 10 months.

“I think it was cool to now have wins in two different weight classes,” Anders told MMAWeekly.com. “Probably by the end of my career I’ll have three if I take a heavyweight fight. That’s one check off the box.

“Every time I show up I expect to win. I expect to win in devastating fashion. I put a lot work into these fights, so every time I win that’s how I expect to win. It was good to end the (losing) streak and start another streak.”

While Anders notes that he sees a difference in how fighters at each weight react to what he brings to a fight, he is more than happy to fight at either weight if the opportunity is brought to him.

“I think the difference between weight classes is that the light heavyweights are a little bit more durable than the middleweights,” said Anders. “Whenever I hit the middleweights they either drop or go flying across the cage, the light heavyweights can take it a little bit more.

“I like to fight, I like to scrap, so it is what it is, I’ll fight whoever whenever, they just need to send me the contract.”

On Saturday in Tampa, Fla., Anders (12-4) will look to build a winning streak when he faces Gerald Meerschaert (30-11) in a middleweight bout on the UFC on ESPN+ 19 main card.

“I’ve just got to go out there and be me,” Anders said. “Impose my will and touch him a few times and I think that’ll be all she wrote.

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“(Meerschaert is) a super-tough guy. He’s got 40-something fights. He comes from a really good camp. He’s dangerous until the fight is over… that’s something I’m very conscious of, but I’m very confident in my ability and go out there and get a finish myself.”

Never one to shy away from action, Anders would be more than happy to close out 2019 with one more fight if possible.

“My dog, Walt Harris, is the main event on Dec. 7 in Washington DC, so that would be cool to get on a fight card with him,” said Anders. “I’m looking to fight at least one more time. Four times a year is about where I like, so hopefully we can get that.”