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What's the story?
At tonight's UFC 231 Prelims, Elias Theodorou squared off in a highly awaited middleweight bout against Eryk Anders.
Theodorou, who headed into this fight on a two-fight winning streak, continued his tremendous form as he managed to beat Anders via split decision in a back-and-forth fight.
In case you didn't know...
Elias Theodorou made his UFC debut by defeating MFC veteran Sheldon Westcott via TKO at The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale to win the middleweight tournament in 2014, in what was his UFC debut. Within these past four years with the promotion, Theodorou has already beaten the likes of Bruno Santos, Dan Kelly, and very recently defeated Trevor Smith at UFC Fight Night 130.
Eryk Anders meanwhile made his UFC debut just last year, and came into this contest off a heavy defeat against the hard-hitting Thiago Santos at UFC Fight Night 137.
The heart of the matter
Theodorou starts off the fight with early footwork, as Anders is engaged closely in the first few seconds. Theodorou remains fast on his kicks and connects with a flurry when Anders tried to come close.
Anders kept on pressurising his opponent but wasn't able to find an opening, as he gets hit with another solid combination. Theodorou starts using his knees for the good before eventually opting to hit several leg kicks, as he kept firing with Anders getting frustrated by the minute. Anders eventually closes out the round with a big body shot.
Anders closes out Theodorou in the corner on the restart but with more kicks from the latter, Anders ends up taking a few shots. They go back-and-forth for a while before Anders meets his opponent with a few left hands in what turned out to be a solid attack for Anders.
In the final few stages, Anders cracks a solid left hand, followed by another as it looks like Theodorou is in big trouble. Another solid left hand from Anders and Theodorou is wobbly before another left brings him down to the mat. Anders stays on the attack by bringing Theodorou down to the floor, as he closes out the round in strong fashion.
Anders starts off the final round in sloppy fashion, with Anders staying on the charge. A solid left uppercut from Anders almost takes Theodorou down. Theodorou though comes off firing another combination, and Anders manages to land heavy shots but the fight is in favour of his opponent.
In the final one minute, Anders takes a few good shots before catching a leg and trying to drive his opponent down, only to run out of time.
We got to the judges scorecard, and Elias Theodorou won via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
What's next?
Elias Theodorou's win definitely will give him a major boost in the UFC Middleweight Division, and it'll be interesting to note who his next opponent turns out to be.
