- Erceg’s decision to make a late takedown proved his undoing.
- The Australian only needed to win the round to take the world title.
- Erceg did not receive any performance bonus
Rising UFC star Steve Erceg has opened up about the “mistake” that cost him the flyweight belt, but he says anyone who thinks he sucks can say it to his face, in the cage.
Erceg’s battle with undisputed flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja in Brazil on Sunday was up for grabs after four rounds.
Until that point, Erceg had controlled the fight when he was standing, but Pantoja had the advantage when it came to grappling.
Erceg entered the fifth and final round thinking he needed to finish off Pantoja to be crowned the winner.
Western Australian Steve Erceg has spoken out about the ‘mistake’ that cost him the flyweight belt
Erceg only needed to win the fifth round, but opted for a costly takedown thinking he needed to finish his opponent.
In reality, Erceg only needed to win the fifth round on points to emerge victorious.
Erceg’s decision to try for takedowns twice in the fifth round proved to be his undoing, and Pantoja was able to take advantage of the situation to get the victory.
The judges scored the fight 48-47, 48-47, 49-46.
“Obviously, hindsight is 20/20,” Erceg told AAP on Monday.
“I was winning on my feet. But I thought that if I gave him a chance to shoot first (with a takedown), that might also make me lose the fight.
“So I thought I’d shoot first, and since he’s tired I thought he’d climb slower and I could stay on top.”
“But obviously it didn’t work out that way and I ended up losing the fight, so that’s what I meant by ruining it.”
Despite his excellent performance, Erceg was not rewarded with any of the $50,000 performance bonuses subsequently awarded, all of them to Brazilian wrestlers.
Sunday’s fight was only Erceg’s fourth in the UFC arena.
Despite coming close to defeating the world champion, Erceg received no fight bonus.
Erceg says that those who want to criticize him can come meet him in the cage.
And despite being gutted by the defeat, Erceg says the performance at least proved he deserves to be “up there with the greats.”
But the 28-year-old is also well aware of the criticism.
“I’m sure people will have a lot of nonsense to say about my wrestling or my IQ,” Erceg said.
“But if you have something to say and you think I suck, you know where to find me: in the cage.”
“I mean, anyone who has analyzed the fight has had a very similar view to mine: I lost the fight, not he won it.”
“There are many analysts whose opinion I respect and who have said exactly that: I made a big mistake.”
“It’s obviously not easy to hear, but it’s what I need to hear.”
Erceg is eager to return to the cage for UFC 305 in his hometown of Perth on August 18.
The Western Australian needed just three UFC wins before earning his first shot at the flyweight belt, but he knows his next title fight might not come so quickly.
‘It could take me three fights to get back there, it could be eight fights. You never really know,” she said.
As for the next fight on your bucket list?
Erceg is willing to continue fighting against the elite, and lists as possibilities the number 1 challenger in the ranking, Brandon Royval, Alex Pérez, number 5, and Muhammad Mokaev, number 6.
