UFC 289 results: Marc-Andre Barriault outlasts Eryk Anders to win hard-fought decision
Marc-Andre Barriault and Eryk Anders | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
For the first time since joining the UFC, Marc-Andre Barriault has a win on home soil.
The Canadian middleweight earned a convincing unanimous decision nod over Eryk Anders (15-8, 1 NC) to open the main card of UFC 289, which took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Saturday. Barriault (16-6, 1 NC) lost his first two UFC fights that took place in Canada.
He set the tone early in Round 1 with a body kick-right hand combination that put Anders on his backside.
Barriault dropped Anders early #UFC289 pic.twitter.com/3KmzcuAxCX
- ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 11, 2023
Anders recovered and the pace didn't slow from there as the American sought to push the pace and brawl with Barriault in close. Barriault didn't shy away from the tactic and answered with his own short-range punches and elbows.
The second round was muddled by a pair of accidental low blows suffered by Anders. Fortunately for Barriault, neither foul resulted in a point deduction as referee Jerin Valel settled on admonishing Barriault in both instances.
Rounds 2 and 3 played out in similar fashion with Anders urgently looking to close the distance to strike and Barriault successfully countering and consistently getting the better of the tight exchanges. In the end, Barriault swept the scorecards with a trio of 30-27s.
Barriault seemed snakebitten fighting in Canada as he previously suffered losses to Andrew Sanchez in Ottawa in his UFC debut and then to Krzysztof Jotko at UFC 240 in Edmonton. The third time proved to be the charm for Quebec's Barriault, who has now won two straight and three of his past four fights.
UFC 289 results: Marc-Andre Barriault outlasts Eryk Anders to win hard-fought decision originally appeared on NBC Sports
