Aussie Steve Erceg to fight Matt Schnell at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden

Steve Erceg just landed the biggest fight of his life. The Aussie tells the story of how a nap cost him his first visit to Madison Square Garden, but that won’t happen this time.

Perth’s Steve Erceg has his next fight locked in. Picture: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Aussie fighter Steve Erceg didn’t quite make it to his first planned trip to Madison Square Garden.

The rising flyweight UFC star had planned on heading to the iconic venue in 2017, and even had tickets to watch an ice hockey game there.

“I was in New York for a bit of a holiday and for the Jiu-Jitsu world championships for blue belts,” he tells this masthead. “We had tickets to watch ice hockey, but unfortunately I was very jet lagged and decided to have a nap before we went.

“We just never woke up, and missed out on going to Madison Square Garden.”

Erceg (L) lands one on David Dvorak. Picture: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Six years on, Erceg - nicknamed Astroboy - will finally get his chance to not only visit MSG, but fight there when he steps into the Octagon with Matt Schnell at UFC 295 on November 12 (November 13 in Australia).

The blockbuster pay-per-view card will be headlined by a mouth-watering showdown between heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former longtime titleholder Stipe Miocic, while Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira fight for the vacant light-heavyweight title.

“I won’t be asleep for this one, I promise you that,” he laughs.

In fact, he’s already looking ahead to the future.

“Madison Square Garden is a bucket list venue for sure. I didn’t expect to be fighting in such big venues this fast,” he says. “Hopefully in the future I can main event there.

“That’s what I want one day, for sure.”

Erceg isn’t afraid to rattle the cage and dream big.

His goal is to become the UFC’s flyweight champion within five fights, and he kicked off that journey in style with a unanimous decision win over David Dvorak in June.

Erceg makes a winning start to his UFC career. Picture: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

The victory propelled him into the rankings at 14, and he’ll look to make another leap when he faces the ninth ranked Schnell in one of the biggest cards of the year.

“I’m happy to get these high level fights straight away,” he says. “It’s good to get a taste of that level.

“You fight local guys and you can get away with certain things, but fighting guys at that higher level, I know what I can get away with.

“Schnell’s best attribute is his toughness. He gets dropped, is almost out, then keeps fighting, keeps working and finds ways to gas his opponents out and win.

“I know that if I do hurt him, I can’t rush it. He’s good at surviving, he’s crafty, so I’ll just need to take my time and take it as it comes.”

Originally published as Aussie Steve Erceg to fight Matt Schnell at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden