UFC: Steve Erceg to fight Alexandre Pantoja for flyweight title at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro
Steve Erceg will create an astonishing piece of history by fighting for the flyweight title in just his fourth UFC bout, and less than a year after making his promotional debut. Find out more here.
Steve Erceg will create an astonishing piece of history by fighting for the flyweight title in just his fourth UFC bout, and less than a year after making his promotional debut.
This masthead can reveal the West Australian has been called up for a remarkable title fight main event against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro on May 5.
The fight will take place just 11 months after his UFC debut.
A win would be one of the greatest feats in Australian combat sports history and see Erceg become just the third Australian to win a UFC title after Robert Whittaker and Alexander Volkanovksi.
News of his title shot comes two weeks after Erceg shocked the world with a one-punch knockout of Matt Schnell in Las Vegas.
The 27-year-old was getting stuck into a celebratory three-piece meal and maxi popcorn chicken from KFC when he received confirmation about his shock title fight.
Getting the shot also means he owes his old man an apology.
“I got the call and had to quickly put away the KFC so I didn’t get too fat,” Erceg told this masthead. “Somehow my father called it.
“He just had a good feeling about it for whatever reason and thought I could get the title fight. I called him an idiot.
“Then I had to turn around and apologise after signing the contract.”
Erceg had been hoping to fight former two-time flyweight champion Brandon Moreno in front of his home fans in Perth later this year.
Instead, he’ll be walking into Farmasi Arena in front of Pantoja’s rabid supporters, who will be baying for blood.
“I’m expecting to get booed, I’m expecting to be told I’m going to die,” he said. “Once I win, and get the title, I think they’ll throw bottles and everything else at me as I try to leave.
“Then I’ll be getting on a plane pretty quickly because I imagine they’ll be trying to kill me after the fight.”
Pantoja is on a five-fight win streak, and won the flyweight belt in an epic Fight of the Night win over Moreno last July. He made his first defence against Brandon Royval in December, and is ranked 10th on the UFC’s pound-for-pound list.
But Erceg sees shortcomings.
“His greatest attribute is his tenacity,” he said. “He’s got no quit, and that’s bolstered by his great chin and good cardio.
“But I’ve seen how many holes he has. He has all that going for him, but because of that, he gets away with some very amateurish things on his feet.
“He’ll take wild swings and run at you. He has been cracked in the past, but because of his chin, he’s gotten away with it.
“I think I can walk him onto shots consistently and out-compete, and out-technique him.”
In a social media post earlier this month, Pantoja said he was considering giving a relatively unknown challenger the title shot, “like Apollo Creed gave to Rocky.”
Erceg is only too happy to play the underdog role, but says his striking will cause a boilover.
“Most likely it’ll be death by a thousand cuts,” he said. “Touch him up for five rounds and get him on the scorecards, but I also have enough power to stop him.
“You saw that in my last fight. If he makes a bad decision it could end in a knockout.”
Erceg has always had grand plans in the UFC. Speaking to this masthead a week before his debut in June, he promised to win the flyweight title within four fights.
Back-to-back decision wins in his first two fights saw him amend that goal to seven fights, but he’s now within touching distance of making good on that initial promise.
And it was his outrageous knockout of Schnell two weeks ago that made Pantoja take notice. Even if the champion mistook Erceg for Steve Carell.
“The guy from Australia, he’s really good,” Pantoja told Canadian broadcaster Aaron Bronsteter last weekend. “He looks like Steve Carrell – not joking, he looks like Steve Carrell.
Backstage with flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, who expects to compete at UFC 301 in Rio this May and believes that Steve Erceg and Muhammad Mokaev are the most qualified potential opponents.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) March 10, 2024
For more UFC 299 coverage visit https://t.co/SIVYBRx35lpic.twitter.com/9IPyJ5HzHR
“I knocked out Schnell in the first round, he knocked him out in the second round. I think it’s a good option for the UFC.”
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Erceg says those comparisons aren’t anything new.
“I get Steve Carrell, Derek Zoolander, Aaron Rodgers and Novak Djokovic,” he said. “I get more lookalikes than anyone I think.”
No one will be making those mistakes if he can become a UFC champion in seven weeks’ time.
Originally published as UFC: Steve Erceg to fight Alexandre Pantoja for flyweight title at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro
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