Eryk Anders landed the shots, but two of the judges thought Elias Theodorou rang up the points in their middleweight bout at UFC 231 on Saturday night.

Theodorou won a split decision, with two judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor and the other having it 29-28 for Anders.

The bulk of the bout consisted of Theodorou bouncing around the Octagon, poking away with leg kicks and trying to land odd combinations while Anders stalked, seeking to catch his opponent with boxing-style punches.

In the second round, the former Alabama linebacker did just that. In 17 pro MMA fights, Theodorou has never been knocked out. His two losses have come by decision.

For a time in the second round, it looked as though Anders might become the first to finish Theodorou. Anders landed a punch that rubberized Theodorou's legs. Theodorou also hit the mat twice in the second round, but was up quickly both times as he survived the round and seemed no worse for wear in the third and final round.

Anders dropped to 11-3 as an MMA pro and 3-3 in the UFC, with all three losses coming this year (one of them fighting as a light heavyweight on six-days' notice).

It was the second time this year that Anders lost a split decision fighting on his opponent's home turf.

Saturday night's fight was at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, and Theodorou is a native of Ontario.

On Feb. 3, Anders lost a split decision in the main event at UFC Fight Night 125 to Lyoto Machida, staged in Machida’s hometown of Belem, Brazil.

Eryk Anders (left) and Elias Theodorou battle during a middleweight bout at UFC 231 on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)AP

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.