“I Blew It” – “Devastated” Steve Erceg Reflects on Alexandre Pantoja Loss at UFC 301

Steve Erceg faced Alexandre Pantoja and even though he is new to UFC, he already has an impressive 12-2-0 record. ‘Astroboy’ is from Australia and gave his best shot at UFC 301. Winning all his last three UFC fights, the 27-year-old was expected to do something iconic to close out the UFC 301 main card from Rio de Janeiro. However, Pantoja ended up retaining his UFC’s flyweight division Championship following a unanimous decision win.

Disheartened by the defeat, Erceg pondered over his mistakes and shared what he could have done better in the post-fight interview.

Steve Erceg promises to be back after disappointing defeat

“I blew it” is what the 27-year-old told the interviewer following the bout as quoted by the Full Send MMA YouTube channel. Following a loss via unanimous decision of 48-47×2 and 49-46, Steve Erceg expressed his disappointment, saying how he was close to victory and could have done things differently to end up on the other side of the result. Reflecting on his mistakes, the fighter mentioned, “I knew it was close in the third, I knew that I won the fourth; if I could win the last round [I would] at least put myself in a position where I gave myself a chance.”

When the host asked him about his thought process post-fight, ‘Astroboy’ revealed, “Yeah, I am devastated. I came despite the short notice of all three fights in UFC. I came to win. Thought I could do it, thought I was finishing at the top. And he just scrambled me, gotta get better, and I will be back.”

Speaking about his comeback and the next UFC fight, Erceg claimed that he would be back to the octagon as soon as his body allows him to do that. The loss might become a learning curve for the young fighter and the underdog of the UFC can win the next fights. Meanwhile, let’s see how much Erceg and Pantoja earned from this fight.

Steve Erceg and Alexandre Pantoja’s earnings from UFC 301

Pantoja made his second title defense against the Australian on Saturday night. He got a base salary of $182,000 while winning UFC 290 against Brandon Moreno, while Erceg earned a salary of $54,000 from UFC 295 against Alessandro Costa. Since UFC 301 was a title fight, both fighters would have received a higher base fee for the bout in Brazil. ‘The Cannibal’ will also get PPV points since he is also the defending champion. 

Erceg might have gotten paid $200,000 for the event while Pantoja would have been paid a base salary of $750,000. Meanwhile, considering the cut from the PPV sales, the winner can earn over $1 million. The promotion or the fighters are yet to make an official announcement regarding the pay.

What are your thoughts about UFC 301’s main card? Let us know in the comments below.