Brad Tavares’ next UFC fight comes with some baggage.
The veteran middleweight is set to make his 33rd career walk at UFC Fight Night 269 on March 14 when he takes on Eryk Anders at UFC Apex in Las Vegas (Paramount+).
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Although Tavares’ (21-11 MMA, 16-11 UFC) long prize fighting tenure would seemingly numb him to outside factors, he’s honest enough to admit fighting Anders (17-9 MMA, 9-9 UFC) is not 100 percent ideal.
“Eryk’s name came across, and it was one of those that were kind of bittersweet,” Tavares told MMA Junkie Radio. “He and I, we’re friendly. I wouldn’t say we’re the best of friends or anything, but we’ve known each other for years. He’s come out and trained with us before, but this is the life we live. This is the business that it is.
“Sometimes these are the fights you have to make. It’s one of those where I have no ill will or bad blood towards, but at the end of the day, he’s in there trying to take my head off, and I’m trying to go in there and take his head off. It’s a fight.”
Tavares, 38, and Anders, 38, are not only similar in experience and age, but they also have an overlapping fighting style. The Hawaiian is not worried about how the fight will look, because he’s just focused on what he can bring to the table in pursuit of victory.
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“It’s always my intention to go out there and implement my game plan regardless of what this guy is trying to do,” Tavares said. “I want to go out there and put my game plan into place and make it my fight. We’ll see how that ends up for him, and how he responds to that. That will kind of tell us how this fight is going to play out.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC’s Brad Tavares explains why Eryk Anders matchup is ‘bittersweet’
