‘Astroboy’ is set to return on August 9 against a new opponent as he looks to end his winless run.
After receiving a surprising UFC title shot, Steve Erceg came close to beating Alexandre Pantoja before the Brazilian established his dominance in the flyweight division.
Some even thought that Erceg deserved to beat Pantoja at UFC 301 in Brazil, with two judges having the fight coming down to the fifth round.
Results haven’t gone the Australian’s way since his spirited title challenge, which seemingly proved that he belonged at the top of the division.
Erceg was beaten by Brandon Moreno earlier this year to make it three losses in a row, making his next fight a vital moment in his UFC career.
Steve Erceg faces undefeated Hyun Sung Park after Alex Perez withdraws from August 9
Aside from his UFC 305 knockout loss to Kai Kara-France, Steve Erceg was competitive against both Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Moreno.
However, at this stage, ‘Astroboy’ is in great need of a result even if his performances have shown that he can compete with the top fighters at 125-pounds.
Erceg was scheduled to make his return on August 9 at UFC Vegas 109 against a fellow former title challenger, Alex Perez.
Unfortunately, Perez’s bad track record for cancelled fights came back around as the 33-year-old withdrew from the co-main event matchup at the Apex in Las Vegas.
Erceg has now been booked against a replacement opponent who announced the fight via his Instagram following a strong start to life in the UFC.
Having previously won the flyweight tournament on season one of Road to UFC, undefeated Hyun Sung Park has now won three fights in a row inside the Octagon, finishing each opponent.
Steve Erceg was seemingly one correct decision away from beating Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301
In his flyweight title fight with Alexandre Pantoja, many believed that if Steve Erceg could win the final round, he’d dethrone the champion.
With 90 seconds left on the clock, the challenger shot in for a takedown that was reversed by his opponent, who spent the remainder of the fight in top position.
There was a lot of criticism of Erceg’s decision in the closing moments, though he told Full Send MMA immediately after the fight that he didn’t regret his decision.
“I really thought if I could take him down, I’d eat up some time on the ground and make him even more tired and then win on the feet more. So, I probably would have done exactly the same thing. Next time, I just need to be better at it.”
Having lost three in a row since that moment, it remains one of the most important moments in his career.