This weekend, a major shift to the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings could take place.
Middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis faces Khamzat Chimaev in a matchup that could skyrocket either man’s stock even higher than it already is.
While this has changed in recent fights, some still don’t believe that ‘Stillknocks’ gets the credit he deserves because of his unique fighting style.
The same comments have been made about another UFC champion, who Joe Rogan recently showered with praise following his latest win.
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Steve Erceg speaks highly of Alexandre Pantoja despite recognising that he ‘doesn’t look like a good fighter’
Alexandre Pantoja is one of the UFC’s most dominant active champions but for one reason or another, he’s often left out of the current pound-for-pound rankings.
His style might not always be the most visually impressive, but it’s certainly effective, as was the case when he dug deep to retain his flyweight title in an incredibly close fight.
Steve Erceg wasn’t able to capture the 125 pound gold in his first shot at the belt despite pushing the Brazilian champion.
Before Erceg returned to the win column by beating Ode Osbourne, he broke down why he believes that Pantoja doesn’t get the respect he deserves in an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow.
The Australian former title challenger provided a simple explanation as to why Pantoja is so good at finding a way to win even when it’s not pretty.
“I think the reason he’s able to is because he’s really good at those positions. Honestly, I think Pantoja gets disrespected a lot because he doesn’t look clean and he doesn’t look like a good fighter if that makes sense.
“He’s sloppy on the feet, he’s reckless, but he’s really good on the ground. Even his takedowns, his takedowns don’t look, ‘Oh wow, that’s a beautiful double.’ It’s like, ‘Oh, he sort of fell into him and tripped him’. It just looks ugly I guess, but he is really good. People sort of forget that.”
Steve Erceg expects another dominant performance from Alexandre Pantoja in his next fight
While Alexandre Pantoja may still not get the credit he deserves, his recent run of dominant wins has seen this start to turn in his favor.
A date has not been confirmed for his next title defense but we do know who will be standing across the cage from the Brazilian champion.
Joshua Van is going to bring a lot of hype into the matchup following his fight of the year contender with Brandon Royval, that saw him shoot right to the front of the queue.
Unfortunately for the young challenger, Steve Erceg isn’t too optimistic about his chances.
“Honestly, I don’t think Van’s going to be pressuring him,” Erceg told Bloody Elbow. “I think Pantoja’s going to run at him like a lunatic early, he’s going to get a takedown really early, he’s going to jump on his back and he’s going to finish him.
“If he doesn’t, he’s going to look timid on the fence. He’s going to be backing up and then he’s gonna blitz again, take him down and have another shot at it. I just don’t see Van being able to deal with Pantoja.”