{"id":266187,"date":"2017-12-20T06:08:07","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T14:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=266187"},"modified":"2017-12-20T06:08:07","modified_gmt":"2017-12-20T14:08:07","slug":"former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/","title":{"rendered":"Former linebacker and UFC Belem headliner Eryk Anders explains why &#8220;football is way more dangerous than MMA&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former\u00a0<span>Alabama Crimson Tide starting linebacker Eryk Anders is getting the fast-track in the UFC. Just two wins into his stint with the promotion, he&#8217;s been pencilled in for a headlining bout with a former champion, as <a href=\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/lyoto-machida\/report-lyoto-machida-return-surprising-ufc-belem-headliner\/\">he&#8217;s scheduled to meet Lyoto Machida<\/a> in the main event of the UFC&#8217;s upcoming trip to Belem, Brazil.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Now that he&#8217;s firmly rooted in MMA, Anders believes the sport is actually safer and all-around less damaging than<a href=\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/greg-hardy\/video-former-nfler-greg-hardy-destroys-foe-mma-debut\/\"> football.<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"ezVweR\">\u201cFootball is way more dangerous than MMA,\u201d Anders said on a recent edition of The MMA Hour (h\/t Alexander K. Lee of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmafighting.com\/2017\/12\/19\/16793416\/ex-alabama-linebacker-eryk-anders-says-football-is-way-more-dangerous-than-mma\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MMAFighting<\/a>). \u201cEven if you get knocked out in MMA, it\u2019s just one time, then you get up, you take a couple of months off, let your body heal. In football, you may not get knocked out, but you\u2019re constantly getting hit, getting hit, getting hit, especially if you play that D line, linebacker, running back, offensive line position. Every play it\u2019s a collision and your body doesn\u2019t appreciate that.<\/p>\n<p id=\"5KyI6U\">\u201cYou see guys at 30 years old, their career is done just because of all the hits, all the contact,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Just look at the shelf life of the average NFL player, three to five years if you\u2019re lucky; MMA guys, they can play for much longer as long as they\u2019re not one of those guys who play with their hands down and just chuck for the fences and take it to give it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anders went on to explain that even the training in MMA is less taxing than it is in football.<\/p>\n<p id=\"1mhiTZ\">\u201cFootball, it\u2019s a collision every play. Car wreck, every play. But now my body, I don\u2019t have to lift all those weights and eat all that food, it\u2019s kind of the opposite. When I was in college, my back always hurt, my knees always hurt from bearing all the weight and hits and whatnot, but now that I\u2019m doing MMA, my body\u2019s never felt better. I\u2019m walking around at more of a natural weight, my diet\u2019s much better and the way we train I can go forever if I wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What do you think of these comments from the former college football star Eryk Anders?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>BJPenn.com<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>\u00a0on 20\/12\/2017.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former\u00a0Alabama Crimson Tide starting linebacker Eryk Anders is getting the fast-track in the UFC. Just two wins into his stint with the promotion, he&#8217;s been pencilled in for a headlining bout with a former champion, as he&#8217;s scheduled to meet Lyoto Machida in the main event of the UFC&#8217;s upcoming trip to Belem, Brazil.\u00a0 Now [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":266188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[39420],"tags":[39421],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.7 (Yoast SEO v19.14) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Former linebacker and UFC Belem headliner Eryk Anders explains why &quot;football is way more dangerous than MMA&quot; | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former linebacker and UFC Belem headliner Eryk Anders explains why &quot;football is way more dangerous than MMA&quot; | BJPenn.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former\u00a0Alabama Crimson Tide starting linebacker Eryk Anders is getting the fast-track in the UFC. Just two wins into his stint with the promotion, he&#8217;s been pencilled in for a headlining bout with a former champion, as he&#8217;s scheduled to meet Lyoto Machida in the main event of the UFC&#8217;s upcoming trip to Belem, Brazil.\u00a0 Now [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"| BJPenn.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-20T14:08:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Eryk-Anders.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"730\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tom Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bjpenndotcom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bjpenndotcom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tom Taylor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tom Taylor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/e1a3f1e5a045aeaf5b59aa1549a06a87\"},\"headline\":\"Former linebacker and UFC Belem headliner Eryk Anders explains why &#8220;football is way more dangerous than MMA&#8221;\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-20T14:08:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-20T14:08:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/\"},\"wordCount\":404,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Eryk Anders\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Eryk Anders\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2017\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/\",\"name\":\"Former linebacker and UFC Belem headliner Eryk Anders explains why \\\"football is way more dangerous than MMA\\\" | BJPenn.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-20T14:08:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-20T14:08:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"MMA News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Eryk Anders\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Former linebacker and UFC Belem headliner Eryk Anders explains why &#8220;football is way more dangerous than MMA&#8221;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\",\"name\":\"| BJPenn.com\",\"description\":\"MMA &amp; UFC News, Results &amp; Fight Videos\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\",\"name\":\"| BJPenn.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":148,\"caption\":\"| BJPenn.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/bjpenn\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bjpenn\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bjpenndotcom\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/0fficialbjpenn\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bjpenndotcom\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/e1a3f1e5a045aeaf5b59aa1549a06a87\",\"name\":\"Tom Taylor\",\"description\":\"Tom Taylor is a globetrotting writer currently based in Ottawa, Canada. He is a staff writer for BJPenn.com, and also covers mixed martial arts for Fightland and Vice Sports. Follow him on Twitter @TomTayMMA.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/author\/tom-taylor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Former linebacker and UFC Belem headliner Eryk Anders explains why \"football is way more dangerous than MMA\" | BJPenn.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Former linebacker and UFC Belem headliner Eryk Anders explains why \"football is way more dangerous than MMA\" | BJPenn.com","og_description":"Former\u00a0Alabama Crimson Tide starting linebacker Eryk Anders is getting the fast-track in the UFC. Just two wins into his stint with the promotion, he&#8217;s been pencilled in for a headlining bout with a former champion, as he&#8217;s scheduled to meet Lyoto Machida in the main event of the UFC&#8217;s upcoming trip to Belem, Brazil.\u00a0 Now [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/","og_site_name":"| BJPenn.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn","article_published_time":"2017-12-20T14:08:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":730,"height":380,"url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Eryk-Anders.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Tom Taylor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bjpenndotcom","twitter_site":"@bjpenndotcom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tom Taylor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/"},"author":{"name":"Tom Taylor","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/e1a3f1e5a045aeaf5b59aa1549a06a87"},"headline":"Former linebacker and UFC Belem headliner Eryk Anders explains why &#8220;football is way more dangerous than MMA&#8221;","datePublished":"2017-12-20T14:08:07+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-20T14:08:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/"},"wordCount":404,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization"},"keywords":["Eryk Anders"],"articleSection":["Eryk Anders"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2017","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/","name":"Former linebacker and UFC Belem headliner Eryk Anders explains why \"football is way more dangerous than MMA\" | BJPenn.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-12-20T14:08:07+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-20T14:08:07+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/former-linebacker-ufc-belem-headliner-eryk-anders-explains-football-way-dangerous-mma\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MMA News","item":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Eryk Anders","item":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/eryk-anders\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Former linebacker and UFC Belem headliner Eryk Anders explains why &#8220;football is way more dangerous than MMA&#8221;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/","name":"| BJPenn.com","description":"MMA &amp; UFC News, Results &amp; Fight Videos","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization","name":"| BJPenn.com","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png","width":600,"height":148,"caption":"| BJPenn.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/instagram.com\/bjpenn","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bjpenn","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bjpenndotcom\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/0fficialbjpenn","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn","https:\/\/twitter.com\/bjpenndotcom"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/e1a3f1e5a045aeaf5b59aa1549a06a87","name":"Tom Taylor","description":"Tom Taylor is a globetrotting writer currently based in Ottawa, Canada. He is a staff writer for BJPenn.com, and also covers mixed martial arts for Fightland and Vice Sports. Follow him on Twitter @TomTayMMA.","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/author\/tom-taylor\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266187"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54430"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}