Former Alabama Starting Linebacker Set for UFC Fight on Saturday

The Alabama Crimson Tide dynasty of the 2000's has included some incredibly dominant teams. Perhaps none were as good as the undefeated 2009 team. That squad sent plenty of players to the NFL, but even some of the players who didn't go pro have continued their athletic careers.

Alabama fans may recognize one of the names on this weekend's UFC card.

That's the same Eryk Anders who started and helped anchor the 2009 Crimson Tide defense.

In 2009, Anders tied Rolando McClain for the team lead in TFLs (14.5) and was second on the team behind Marcel Dareus in sacks (6.0). Anders added 1 interception and racked up 66 total tackles that year.

He never stuck in the NFL after signing with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent, and instead he changed sports to mixed martial arts.

Anders is 13-5 as a professional, and 3 of his 5 UFC wins have come by knockout. He most recently lost to Krzystof Jotko by decision in May.

FanDuel Sportsbook has Anders as a -172 favorite to bounce back with a win over Antonio Arroyo on Saturday.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.