Hard-hitting UFC contender books next fight after brutally retiring former champion

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated May 21, 2025 1:29 PM ET

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With the UFC’s summer schedule really starting to take shape in recent weeks, a high-profile middleweight bout has officially been booked for August.

The latter half of the summer will see the UFC middleweight division dominate much of the combat sports spotlight, as Dricus du Plessis is set to try and defend his 185 lbs. belt for the third time against undefeated challenger Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 on August 16.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker will meet former ONE Championship star Reinier de Ridder in the main event of UFC Dubai on July 26, and another middleweight bout has officially been confirmed for a UFC APEX show on August 9 that’s also rumored to feature top contenders Roman Dolidze and Anthony Hernandez.

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Eryk Anders Returns To Face Christian Leroy Duncan

Announced by Iridium Sports Agency, longtime UFC veteran Eryk Anders will try and earn a third-straight win when he meets Christian Leroy Duncan on August 9 in Las Vegas.

A member of the UFC roster since 2017, Anders has competed at both middleweight and light heavyweight across 18 outings with the world’s premier MMA promotion.

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“Ya Boi” came up short in a Fight of the Night-winning scrap with Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 289 before he rebounded with a unanimous decision win against Jamie Pickett the following year, and at UFC 310 the 38-year-old brutally stopped former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman in what ended up being Weidman’s final UFC bout before he announced his retirement.

Duncan Looks To Steal Anders' Momentum

Anders has yet to win three-straight fights in the UFC, and if he wants to potentially earn a crack at the middleweight Top 15 he’ll need to best a former Cage Warriors champion in August.

Joining the UFC with a perfect 7-0 record in 2023, Duncan alternated wins and losses in his first two Octagon outings before he scored back-to-back finishes against Denis Tiuliulin and Claudio Ribeiro.

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“CLD” had that momentum halted by Gregory Rodrigues at UFC 304, but the 29-year-old returned to the win column in March when he defeated Andrey Pulyaev via unanimous decision.

The addition of Anders vs. Duncan gives the UFC Fight Night show on August 9 three confirmed bouts, and fans can likely look forward to more news about the card in the coming weeks as summer approaches.

• Eryk Anders vs. Christian Leroy Duncan

• Julius Walker vs. Raffael Cerqueira

• Gabriella Fernandes vs. Julija Stoliarenko

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This article first appeared on MMA on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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