Steve Erceg’s biggest MMA win was somewhat overshadowed by a post-fight faux pas.
The Australian flyweight is looking to rebound from back-to-back defeats against Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara France, who shockingly knocked him out inside one round when they clashed at UFC 305 last August.
Steve Erceg will square off against former two-time 125lb champion Brandon Moreno in the UFC Mexico City main event on Saturday night.
In the build-up, footage from his most famous UFC win is being reshared online by fight fans.
Steve Erceg’s win overshadowed by referee blooper
Erceg kicked off his career in MMA’s premier promotion with decision wins over Alessandro Costa and David Dvořák.
However, it wasn’t until his third fight in the Octagon that he became a serious contender at 125lbs.
Erceg squared off against Matt Schnell at UFC Vegas 87 in March 2022 and ended the fight in round two with a monstrous left hook that left ‘Danger’ out cold on the canvas.
The victory earned Erceg a shot at flyweight gold, which ended in a razor-thin decision defeat to Pantoja at UFC 301.
Still, fans continue to talk about an awkward post-fight moment between Schnell and the referee who waved off his fight with Erceg, Chris Tognoni.
Footage shows the veteran referee making a wild comment to Schnell, who was dazed and confused.
“I’m not sure what was worse, the punch or you hitting your head on the canvas,” Tognoni said.
He added while patting Schnell on the chest: “You’ll see it on the film.”
Fans react as awkward footage resurfaces
Schnell appeared to retire after suffering a third straight loss at UFC Vegas 97 last September.
However, fans are still talking about how he was done dirty by the referee after his penultimate MMA fight.
Many people have taken to social media to condemn Tognoni for his behavior after Erceg’s big KO.
“Wow. What a d—,” one fan said. While another added: “Might be the worst thing a referee has done inside the UFC cage.”
“I still absolutely cannot believe this is real every time I see it,” someone else commented.
“Really bad look on the ref. Unprofessionalism at its peak,” a fourth fan fumed.
“How is bro supposed to react to that comment?” another X user asked
“That seemed unacceptably harsh,” a sixth UFC fan wrote.