Before his appearance in a middleweight bout on the main card of UFC 289 on June 10, former Alabama linebacker Eryk Anders said he planned to fight five more times before concluding his career in mixed martial arts.
That might take more time than he expected.
Anders announced via his Instagram account on Thursday that he fought at UFC 289 despite a broken bone and torn ligament in his right foot, which he referred to as a Lisfranc injury. After the surgery needed to repair the damage, Anders wrote, he will be sidelined for the rest of the year.
Anders lost to Marc-Andre Barriault in a unanimous decision during UFC 289 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. Each of the three judges had all three rounds scored 10-9 for Barriault.
Anders wrote that it was “suggested” that he pull out of the fight because of his injury. Not only did he not do that, Anders wrote he hoped he would get a short-notice fight before he had surgery.
Anders has a 7-8 record in the UFC and a 15-8 mark as a pro in MMA.
Anders played football at Alabama from 2006 through 2009. In Anders’ final appearance -- the BCS national championship game -- his fumble-causing sack of Texas quarterback Garret Gilbert gave the Crimson Tide the football at the Longhorns’ 3-yard line while holding a 24-21 lead with 3:02 left in the game.
Anders led Alabama with seven tackles in the 37-21 victory over the Longhorns for the first of coach Nick Saban’s six national titles with the Tide.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.