Steve Erceg calls out Brandon Moreno, eyes up NRL in Las Vegas celebrations

If all goes well this weekend, Steve Erceg will be celebrating with a huge meal while watching the NRL season opener at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Then he’ll begin planning a fight with a former UFC champion.

Aussie Steve Erceg is back in action in Las Vegas this weekend. Picture: Sarah Stier/Getty Images

If all goes well this weekend, Steve Erceg will be celebrating with a huge meal while watching the NRL season opener at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Then he’ll begin planning a fight with a former UFC champion.

That’s the Perth-based flyweight’s plan anyway.

Erceg, the 12th ranked flyweight in the UFC, takes on ninth ranked Matt Schnell at the UFC Apex on Sunday morning Australian time.

Being from WA, he’s more of an AFL man, but says he’s always had a soft spot for Benji Marshall.

And the 28-year-old can think of few better ways to celebrate than by watching a bit of footy – even if rugba league isn’t his bread and butter.

“I got to meet some of the NRL guys at the UFC Performance Institute,” Erceg told this masthead. “I’m planning on going to the games after the fight as well – assuming I’m all healthy.

“I ran into the Manly team at the PI, they were watching a Cody Garbrandt training session, so it’ll be good to see what the Australian atmosphere is like at the games.”

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Erceg is more of an AFL man, but is keen to watch the NRL’s season opener in Vegas. Picture: Getty Images

First though, Erceg must beat the 16-7 Schnell.

The pair have history, with Schnell pulling out of their scheduled bout in November. Schnell was also the fighter who withdrew earlier last year, allowing Erceg to make his UFC debut against David Dvorak.

Just days away from the fight, Erceg is confident ‘Danger’ will make the walk this weekend, and says he has made some big improvements since they were first supposed to fight.

Most of those came during his decision win over late notice replacement Alessandro Costa at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in November.

“I had three rounds to explore lots of holes I have,” he said. “The first round went really well, the second round, not so well.

“There were lots of things to work on, one thing is that my guard tends to come down a little bit low.

“I have decent movement, but if I combine that with guarding when I get caught in mid-range, that’s probably one of the biggest things.”

Erceg turned his win over Alessandro Costa into a learning moment. Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Those adjustments could prove crucial against the heavy-handed Schnell.

“He’s got slick boxing, but he does throw a lot of overhands and left hooks and he comes forward aggressively,” Erceg said. “Keeping distance is one thing, but at some point he will probably get into a good range and land.

“I need to make sure my hands and weight are in a spot that’s very disciplined, so I can take those shots, counter, and get out safely.”

From there, Erceg wants to take on former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno.

The 30-year-old has lost his last two fights – including a Fight of the Night battle for the title against Alexandre Pantoja last year, and a split decision defeat to Brandon Royval on the weekend – but is still one of the best in the division.

“It makes sense after this fight for me to fight Brandon Moreno,” Erceg said. “It will propel me up the ranking towards a title fight, and put him back into it if he wins.

“Moreno looked uncharacteristically sloppy (against Royval). He’s usually got very slick boxing and comes forward.

“He’s usually very good, but he was just swinging away, couldn’t get the distance and couldn’t get in close.

“It was an odd fight – I don’t know whether that was his plan, to throw big windmills – but I want to fight him next.”

Originally published as Steve Erceg calls out Brandon Moreno, eyes up NRL in Las Vegas celebrations