Eryk Anders doesn’t believe Krzysztof Jotko will “be able to handle” his pressure at UFC Jacksonville

Eryk Anders is looking to extend his winning streak to three when he battles Krzysztof Jotko this Saturday in Jacksonville.

The two were scheduled to fight at UFC Portland on April 11, but, the event was canceled leaving them to be rebooked for May 16. For Anders, he’s excited he gets the opportunity to compete during this time and is also happy it will still be against Jotko.

“I’m glad I’m in this situation. If you don’t fight you don’t get a cheque. So, I’m glad I get the chance to perform and get paid. Jotko has been pretty game this entire time,” Anders said to BJPENN.com. “Every time they have asked us to sign a new contract for a new date we both have agreed. It has always been Jotko. I’m sure if something came up with him, they would’ve matched me with someone else. There were guys available.”

Entering this fight, Anders is coming off a split decision win over Gerald Meerschaert to extend his winning streak to two and return him to the win column at middleweight. For “Ya Boi” he knows how important that win was, but he says getting a win over Jotko is even more crucial.

“Every win is big. I think the next one is more important than the last one. It’s good to have momentum where I can fight a name guy like Jotko,” he explained. “If I win here, maybe I get a top-15 guy next. That is the ultimate goal to move up the ranks and become a champion.”

Although the pandemic has forced gyms to closed, Anders says he had a full training camp. The former Alabama football star says he and Walt Harris among others were forced to sneak into the gym at strange times to prepare for their fights. But, he says he is lucky given the fact he still got a full training camp with the usual bodies.

“Man, we didn’t pay any attention to that rule saying we could only have so many people at the gym. We were training the whole time,” Anders said. “We did have to sneak around and change our training times because a lady snitched on us and called the police. So, we were a little more careful on when we were training but we never stopped.”

Entering this fight, Anders suspects Jotko has confidence back in himself after winning two in a row. But, he knows he’s much better than the opponents the Pole has been fighting, so he’s confident he’ll get his hand raised.

“I’m going to get in his face and do what I do. I’m going to be a bully in there and I think he’ll try to wrestle me,” he said. “He’s an athletic guy, but I don’t think he will be able to handle my pressure.”

If Anders does just that, he hopes to get a top-15 opponent and have two more fights in 2020 and end the year as a top-10 middleweight.

Who do you think will win between Eryk Anders and Krzysztof Jotko?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/13/2020.