"It cost the fans a barnburner" - Eryk Anders reacts to landing an illegal knee on Darren Steward at UFC Vegas 21

Eryk Anders faced Darren Stewart in a middleweight bout to get things going on the main card at UFC Vegas 21. While the bout had sparks flying from the opening seconds, it would end in a tragic no contest due an illegal strike.

While looking for a finish in the closing seconds of the first round, Eryk Anders landed an illegal knee on Darren Stewart who was down on one knee, looking to survive the round. The referee, Herb Dean, ruled the fight a no contest.

UFC fans were met with disappointment that a promising fight ended unexpectedly due to an illegal strike for the second time in two weeks.

Eryk Anders apologized to Darren Stewart for the illegal knee that led to their #UFCVegas21 bout being declared a No Decision. (via @erykanders) pic.twitter.com/9sf80A4qRy

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 14, 2021

Eryk Anders immediately took to Twitter to apologise to Darren Stewart while acknowledging that his error in jugdement had cost fans a 'barnburner'. While the illegal knee from Anders has shades of Petr Yan's illegal strike, it certainly did not look as malicious and fortunately for Darren Stewart, did not have the same impact either.

Unlike Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259, Darren Stewart was able to block the illegal knee and get back on his feet. While Stewart showed tremendous courage by expressing his desire to keep going, the doctor deemed him unfit to continue.

Why Eryk Anders was not disqualified

While Eryk Anders brought back flashbacks of UFC 259 after kneeing a grounded opponent, he did not face the same fate as Petr Yan. While we saw a new bantamweight champion at UFC 259 as Petr Yan was disqualified, the middleweight bout between Eryk Anders and Darren Stewart at UFC Vegas 21 was ruled a no contest.

A no decision is the ruling for our main card opener. #UFCVegas21 pic.twitter.com/LlgAg1mkb6

— UFC (@ufc) March 14, 2021

The fight was ruled a no contest as referee Herb Dean did not see the knee from Eryk Anders as intentional. The decision was also passed in accordance to boxing rules which requires a minimum of four rounds for the bout to be ruled anything other than a no contest. A famous exception to this is the 1997 classic between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield where Tyson was disqualified in the third round for imfamously biting Holyfield's ear.