UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja has praised challenger Steve Erceg for helping put Flyweight on the map
This weekend at UFC 301 in Rio De Janeiro saw a thrilling fight card topped off by a 5-round Flyweight scrap. Headlined by Brazilian champion Alexandre “The Cannibal” Panoja and challenger #10 ranked Steve “Astroboy” Erceg. Considerably lower ranked Erceg stepped up and lived up to the callout. Champion Pantoja called out Erceg as he wanted to move on from former foes; Brandon Royval and Brandon Moreno having beaten the former twice and the latter three times.
Exploring opponents lower in the rankings split opinions with some claiming “The Cannibal” was looking for an easy fight. Erceg quickly put these doubts to bed displaying his slick counter-striking and proving he was more than capable on the ground. Both Erceg and Pantoja battled it out to the final bell in a fight which explored every facet of MMA. As the back-and-forth scrap unfolded Pantoja soaked up increasing damage with the Brazilian cut badly. The five-round bloodbath was seen very close with some believing it was level going into the fifth round. Ultimately the ground control time of Alexandre was enough to earn him the unanimous decision victory but there’s no denying how “Astroboy” proved his worth.
Pantoja defended his decision to call out Australian Erceg in the UFC 301 Post-Fight Press Conference:
“I’ve always said this division is entirely tough you can take the 10th-ranked guy and have him fight against the champion and you guys saw exactly that tonight. This division is all about work. You can’t move up in the rankings just by talking.
Alexandre Pantoja Praises Steve Erceg for UFC 304
Champion Pantoja believes that this fight was impactful on the future of the Flyweight division. Previously the lighter weight classes have struggled to draw the same traction as the heavier weight classes. But Alexandre feels that this “watershed moment” will have transformed the opinions of MMA audiences.
At the UFC 301 Post-Fight Press Conference Pantoja told MMA Junkie:
“I’m really happy to see this. I think it was a watershed moment for the division. We’ve been having main events in Mexico. There was a main event last week between flyweights, so I’m very happy to see this moment.”
Pantoja Continues
The Brazilian champ wasn’t just praising the event but also his opponent’s role in making the fight the spectacle it was:
“This is a guy from Australia, a guy that’s very tough, a guy that people didn’t really know, and he came in there to die. He was prepared to die. I think that’s what it’s all about when you fight for the championship.”
Whilst the fight was tough to score Alexandre was dismissive of claims that it was a close fight:
“I think I clearly won the first three rounds of the fight. The fourth round could’ve been his. The fifth round was mine. I definitely think it was 4-1.
A fight for the ages that had fans gripped all over the world, the future of the Flyweight division and Steve Erceg is indisputably bright.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
