Middleweights on matching two-fight winning streaks clash in this battle to see which one will continue their march towards the Top 15.
Anders hit the UFC as a hyped prospect after an 8-0 start on the regional circuit following his collegiate football career at Alabama, and proceeded to earn victories in each of his first two appearances. A step up in competition and a couple trips up to the light heavyweight division didn’t go so well, with “Ya Boi” suffering through a 1-4 stretch that included ugly losses to Thiago Santos and Khalil Rountree Jr.
Since then, however, the 33-year-old Anders has gotten right with a knockout win over Vinicius Moreira and split decision nod over Gerald Meerschaert in his middleweight return.
Jotko has traveled a similar road, minus the detour to the light heavyweight division. After splitting his first two appearances in the Octagon, the Polish fighter posted five straight wins too climb into the rankings, but then lost three straight against ranked competition, including back-to-back stoppage losses to Uriah Hall and Brad Tavares.
Like the man he faces this weekend, Jotko turned things around last year, posting decision wins over Alen Amedovski and Marc-Andre Barriault to bring his record to 21-4 heading into his matchup with Anders.
As has frequently been noted in this series, middleweight has been undergoing major renovations for the last several years and the winner of this one has a real opportunity to take another step forward and potential secure a second chance to mix it up with members of the Top 15 later this year.
