UFC 301 goes down this weekend from Brazil and if underdog Steve Erceg is to shock the world in the main event, he’s going to have to silence the crowd.
Brazilian MMA crowds are known to be as passionate for their hometown heroes as they are hostile to those stepping into their territory and at UFC 301 this weekend, there’s one man who’s looking forward to silencing the Rio de Janeiro faithful.
Steve Erceg’s quick rise to challenging for the UFC title
Australian contender Steve Erceg will, this weekend, fight for the UFC flyweight title in only his fourth fight in the promotion – an outstanding achievement for any MMA athlete, let alone for a 28-year-old who hasn’t yet reached the peak of his powers.
Erceg entered the UFC with a 9-1 record as a professional, earning back-to-back unanimous decision wins over David Dvorak and Alessandro Costa in 2023; followed up by a viral knockout of Matt Schnell earlier this year.
The Australian will step into the cage on Saturday evening to face champion Alexandre Pantoja and if that wasn’t a tough enough contest as it was, Erceg also has to deal with what will undoubtedly be the most hostile crowd he’s ever fought in front of.
Steve Erceg says he expects ‘bottles to be thrown’ after UFC 301
In an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow’s Jamie Theodosi, Erceg noted that whilst everyone in Brazil has been friendly to him so far; “I imagine that’s going to change, not in the public but at the fight it will be very different.”
However, it takes two to tango, and ‘The Cannibal’ himself will have the added pressure of performing in front of his hometown faithful, with the Australian stating that he’s ready for a more explosive start from the champion:
“It’s not going to be easy to get him out of there on a bad day, let alone when he’s trying to fight in front of his home crowd…He’ll want to represent his country, so I think he’s going to come out a little bit more aggressive than some of his previous fights, [but] I’m expecting that.”
Yet speaking during media day, Erceg admitted that he’s still expecting the same venomous hostility that has made Brazil an infamously tricky location to compete in for foreign fighters:
“I definitely expect the same [energy], to go out there and get a finish would be amazing but yeah I expect bottles to be thrown at me as I leave the arena – but I think that’s part of the authentic Brazilian experience.”
‘Astroboy’ also took the opportunity to remind UFC fans that this will certainly not be his first fight in enemy territory; even in his very own hometown he’s felt like the villain:
“I have been booed in a fight before, one of my Eternal MMA fights against Cody Haddon and it was in my hometown, but it was like 50/50 half my fans, half for him – his fans were very loud and very abusive.”
“Honestly it just got me pumped up for the fight, I was very excited, and I imagine it’ll be very similar this time…I’m going to go in there having extra energy, listening to the crowd abusing me and then you go in there and go to war.”
‘Astroboy’ believes his quick title run will be rewarded post-UFC 301
At the start of 2024, not many fans or pundits would have put Erceg into a title shot this early in his UFC career and neither would have ‘Astroboy’, noting that “I know I wasn’t on the top of everybody’s mind when it came to a title shot, but the way that the division was.”
“Pantoja had already beaten a lot of the challenges, people are injured, the only other guy who was in line for a shot was Mokaev and I was on the same card as him, I had a more exciting fight than he did, so the UFC gave me the shot.”
“I’m here to be the best guy in the world so whether I’m an underdog or the favorite, I’m going in to fight another dude in the cage and whoever’s best is going to come out on top.”
When asked whether or not the UFC would be likely to give Pantoja an immediate rematch, should Erceg get his hand raised on Saturday night, ‘Astroboy’ aptly stated “The fans as well have had enough of rematches in the flyweight division.”
“I expect to just beat him the once, then go to Perth and fight somebody else; the rematch, if that’s what they want to do, and the UFC decide to go in the direction of a rematch then I’m open for it but I’m going to prove that I’m the toughest again.”
Steve Erceg fights Alexandre Pantoja for the UFC flyweight title in the main event of UFC 301.