An intriguing fight between Eryk Anders and Khalil Rountree took place on tonight’s UFC 236 main card pay-per-view from Atlanta, Georgia.
Eryk Anders enters tonight’s fight looking to rebound this after suffering back-to-back losses to Elias Theodorou and Thiago Santos in his most recent octagon appearances.
Meanwhile, Khalil Rountree suffered a first round knockout loss to Johnny Walker in his most recent outing. Prior to that, Khalil was coming off a big knockout win over Gokhan Saki.
Round one begins and Rountree fires off a hard low kick to start. Anders is looking to find a way inside. Rountree is using a class Muay Thai stance. He fires off a heavy low kick and then another. Anders needs to stop blocking these. Rountree with another hard low kick. He follows that up with a punch that sends Anders back against the cage. He circles off but is hit with another low kick shortly thereafter. Rountree is just nasty with these low kicks. Anders is not going to last like this. Khalil pumps his jab and then rattles off another low kick. Rountree goes to the body with a kick now. Another low kick. Anders leg is all sorts of red and Rountree just continues to punish it. Eryk catches a kick and throws a spinning back elbow that misses. Rountree continues to hammer the front leg of Anders with kicks. Ten seconds remain. Anders throws a high kick. The horn sounds to end round one.
Round two begins and Rountree immediately attacks the leg of Anders. He leaps in with a combination and then drops Anders with a left. He follows up with punches and then chooses to let Eryk back up. Anders stands back up and eats a left hook that sends him back down. Nasty. Rountree once again tells him to get back up. Anders does and Khalil hits him with a knee to the body. No quit in Eryk Anders here but he is banged up. Rountree with another combination and a big right hand drops Anders. Rogan is calling for the fight to be stopped but the referee lets this continue. Anders is back up and ninety seconds remain in the round. Rountree with a hard kick. He lands another right hand that floors Anders. Khalil with some low kicks while Anders is down but then waves him back up. Anders is a mess at this point. Rountree wants to get him out of there but the horn sounds to end round two.
Round three begins and Khalil lands a low kick. Anders lands a short left. He stands in the pocket and trades with Rountree. What a show of heart from Anders. Rountree lands another heavy low kick. Anders is so tough. He wings a pair of body shots. Rountree with a right hand and then a low kick. Anders is actually having his best round but he’s still likely losing it. Khalil with a jab that misses. He lands a low kick followed by a combination. Rountree with a low kick. Anderson throws a high kick. The horn sounds to end round three.
Official UFC 236 Result: Khalil Rountree def. Eryk Anders via unanimous decision (30-26 x3)