Why Is 10th Rank Steve Erceg Fighting for the Title at UFC 301? Alexandre Pantoja Explains

Alexandre Pantoja is going to defend his flyweight title against Steve Erceg at UFC 301. ‘The Cannibal’ will put his title on the line against Erceg, who has a record of 12-1-0. ‘Astroboy’ is going to feature in his first-ever big UFC fight after just three bouts in the octagon. Now the question is, why is he fighting in UFC 301 even after being 10th in the ranking?

The 34-year-old with a 27-5-0 record whose style is supposedly Brazilian Jiujitsu, recently spoke about why Erceg is fighting in UFC 301 despite being in the 10th rank.

Alexandre Pantoja explains the reason for Erceg’s fight

Speaking on talkSport MMA with Adam Catterall, ‘The Cannibal’ discussed his UFC 301 card while also gushing about how Jose Aldo was coming back on the same card. This is when Pantoja made the host recall that Steve Erceg is also present for this bout just after appearing in the octagon just three times! The young fighter is getting his big break despite being 10th in rank. Pantoja warned Catteral to not “forget that guy.”

He also added, “He just have two fights in the UFC but I don’t know something; this guy has like a lucky I don’t know…”  The host then said that Erceg has been a very impressive fighter since he arrived in the UFC. Pantoja agreed while saying, “You see how calm he (Steve Erceg) walks in the Octagon?” Since ‘Astroboy’ is new, there is not a lot of information on him and his techniques and according to the host, people might wonder how the newbie got a UFC opportunity even though he is ranked 10th. 

Erceg also managed to smoothly wipe out Matt Schnell in UFC Fight Night on March 3rd. According to the host, this allowed him to fight in Rio and this makes the young fighter dangerous.  ‘The Cannibal’ agreed to this idea and said, “Nothing to lose, he is fresh…he doesn’t cut weight a lot of times like I do. He doesn’t fight Manel Kape, he doesn’t fight with Moreno…”

The Brazilian is looking forward to the match because he likes to be a “little afraid, a little scared.” He wants the challenge with Erceg in UFC 301. 

UFC 301- Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg bout

Rio De Jenario is going to witness the flyweight division bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg. With 27 wins under his belt, the 34-year-old is going to defend his belt for the second time. He defeated Brandon Royval in UFC 296. However, this time the fight might be more significant to him because he is fighting in his hometown and his people might have high expectations. 

When it comes to Steve Erceg who specializes in KO submissions, he is donning a 11-fight winning streak as of now. He defeated Alessandro Costa and David Dvorak and this makes him a dangerous opponent for the flyweight champion. When we look at their fighting styles, Alexandre Pantoja has a jiujitsu style of fighting with a black belt in the same.  Since he is a Brazilian he knows BJJ and has an impressive ground game.

On the other hand, Erceg has a grappling style, and the 28-year-old won most of his fights by submission. He also has great punching power and a striking accuracy of 48%. So both fighters are pretty impressive in their ways.

Now the only thing left to see is whether Erceg will defeat Pantoja or it will be the other way round. Who do you think will win the bout?