JRE MMA Show #126 with Eryk Anders

SPEAKER_2 (0:04)

The Joe Rogan Experience.

Joe Rogan (0:15)

How is that even possible?

Eryk Anders (0:16)

Diet and exercise.

Joe Rogan (0:18)

But you're so big, what are you walking around at?

Eryk Anders (0:20)

I'm about 230 right now.

Joe Rogan (0:24)

What is the process of you getting down to 185?

Eryk Anders (0:26)

Yeah, I definitely can't do it on short notice. It takes like a whole eight weeks unless I have to kill myself.

And I used to do that. I'd just not eat for a week and sit in a sauna forever and then wonder why after three minutes, I'd be like, dude, I'm fucking tired.

Joe Rogan (0:44)

Well, how much of a performance impact does it have on you even if you have two solid months to prepare and lose the weight?

Eryk Anders (0:52)

I feel good. I don't think it has a performance issue. I know that some dudes, they cut weight, they don't do it the right way, and I think it kind of makes them more fragile.

But I haven't had that experience.

Joe Rogan (1:08)

So for you, as long as they give you two months, you can do it, but how good does food taste after those two months?

Eryk Anders (1:16)

Everything in my life is extreme. Like if I don't have a fight coming up, I'm a burger, cheeseburger, pizza, beer kind of guy. Hardly drink water. But then when I am, don't eat anything green.

But then when I am training for a fight, it's just the exact opposite. Nothing but water. I count my calories.

Joe Rogan (1:35)

Do you have a meal prep company?

Eryk Anders (1:37)

Yeah, those, I think it's Icon Meals that the UFC has.

And it's awesome because each meal you can tell, it has the macronutrients on there and how many calories. So I just wear a heart rate monitor, and it tells me how many calories I burn per workout. So I just go home, I burn 500, I can only eat 300, and you know.

Joe Rogan (1:57)

Have you ever thought about like, fucking, I'm gonna go heavyweight?

Eryk Anders (2:01)

When I fought Darren Stewart the second time, he was like, let's do heavyweight. And for a second, I was like, man, fuck that. Let's just do heavyweight instead of light heavyweight, and not cut any weight.

If I show up at heavyweight, dude, I'm gonna have a big old belly. I ain't gonna be able to fight a heavyweight, I don't think. It ain't gonna work. My cardio is gonna be shit.

Joe Rogan (2:22)

So when you get to 185 and you do it correctly, you have better cardio?

Eryk Anders (2:26)

I think so. I really don't get tired in fights.

So yeah, I feel good.

And the middleweights, for my career, I think middleweight is the way to go, because they're not as durable as the light heavyweights, and the light heavyweights. Man, those motherfuckers are big. They're like 6'3, 6'4. So it's like a stature thing for me. I'm only 6'1, so I be punching up at everybody.

Joe Rogan (2:50)

What would you think if they eliminated weight cutting? Because there's been talk about that mostly for me.

I think it's, I mean, everyone's doing it, but what it is essentially is like sanction cheating. You're pretending you're 185 pounds. You're about 185 for what, an hour?

Eryk Anders (3:08)

Yeah, the shortest amount of time possible.

Joe Rogan (3:10)

Yeah, and then when you fight, what do you think you weigh?

Eryk Anders (3:14)

Well, I've been as heavy as 225 on fight night. 485 fight.

Joe Rogan (3:19)

That's crazy.

Eryk Anders (3:20)

But I think it works backwards. Yeah, I'm bigger, but when I'm that heavy, like when I fought Andre Moniz, I was like 225 I just felt like heavy.

You know, I was like, dude, I don't know how to...

Joe Rogan (3:31)

You put too much on.

Eryk Anders (3:31)

Yeah, I was like, dude, I'm not moving like I was getting ready for the fight. So when that happens, it's like, I just kind of fucked myself.

Joe Rogan (3:40)

Charles Oliveira, they just did this thing where they weighed him on fight night versus weigh in, and he's 183 on fight night. He fights at 155

Eryk Anders (3:51)

You look at him, you wouldn't think he weighs that.

Joe Rogan (3:52)

No, he's pretty stout. He's a stout dude. I mean, he's long and lean and everything.

Eryk Anders (3:57)

He's like broad, but front to back, he's a thin guy.

Joe Rogan (4:01)

Well, I think he's maximized for the weight class. There's guys that, like, they're maximized for that weight class. Like John Jones at 205 is a perfect example. Maximized for that weight class. The perfect physique for that weight class. Hamza Chamayev at 170, maximized. It's, like, the perfect amount of length, but strong as shit, you know? There's, like, a lot of advantages for that.