Former Alabama linebacker Eryk Anders returned to the Octagon after almost nine months with a victory at UFC Fight Night 238 on Saturday.

Anders dominated the final round to post a unanimous decision over Jamie “The Nightwolf” Pickett at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The judges scored the middleweight match in Anders’ favor 29-27, 29-28, 29-28.

Anders had not fought since June 10, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 289 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Anders appeared in that bout despite a broken bone and torn ligament in his right foot, which he referred to as a Lisfranc injury. The surgery needed to repair the damage resulted in an extended layoff for Anders.

In the first round of his return on Saturday, Anders got the rust knocked off him by a couple of hard rights from Pickett — the second of which put Anders on the canvas.

But Anders warmed up in the second round, which ended with Pickett on the mat and Anders pummeling him with lefts.

In the final round, Pickett spent most of the five minutes prone as Anders scored two takedowns and bloodied his opponent in the process.

Anders earned his first UFC victory since Dec. 3, 2022, when he took care of Kyle Daukaus by technical knockout in the second round of a middleweight bout at UFC on ESPN 42 in Orlando, Florida.

Anders improved to 8-8 in the UFC and 16-8 as an MMA professional.

Pickett, who planned to retire after Saturday’s fight, dropped to 2-7 in UFC with his fifth consecutive loss. He has a 13-11 record as an MMA professional.

Anders and Pickett squared off in the final of six preliminary bouts that preceded the five-fight main card at UFC Fight Night 238, which features the heavyweight meeting of Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Shamil Gaziev as its marquee match.

Anders played football at Alabama from 2006 through 2009. In Anders’ final appearance — the BCS national championship game — his fumble-causing sack of Texas quarterback Garret Gilbert gave the Crimson Tide the football at the Longhorns’ 3-yard line while holding a 24-21 lead with 3:02 left in the game. Anders led Alabama with seven tackles in the 37-21 victory over the Longhorns for the first of coach Nick Saban’s six national titles with the Tide.

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