UFC newcomer Eryk Anders draws former top-15 middleweight Rafael Natal for his promotional debut at UFC on Fox 25 on Long Island. While Anders faces a tall task in the biggest challenge of his MMA career, he has been in bright spotlights before in his athletic career.
Anders, a collegiate linebacker for the Alabama Crimson Tide, secured a momentum-shifting sack that aided his school in capturing the 2010 BCS National Championship.
Anders, now 30, had NFL aspirations that didn’t pan out.