Surprise flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg exceeded expectations but left Rio empty-handed and heartbroken after going the championship distance against a savvy Alexandre Pantoja, who overcame adversity and some shaky moments en route to making a second title defence on his return to Brazil.
Pantoja powers through, but Erceg matched him throughout
48-47, 48-47, 49-46: Alexandre Pantoja (c) bt. Steve Erceg via unanimous decision, retains flyweight title to make second championship defence
- Time to heal, let the division shake out: “I’m here to fight the world’s best and he’s one of them… need to move my head more, my grappling is the best. Steve is an incredible guy, opponent but three fights in a year – I’m gonna rest for a little while with my girl,” Pantoja in post-fight interview
- Pantoja landed more significant strikes (125-111) but also threw 30 more (242-212), Erceg slightly more efficient and defended 10 takedowns
- Ruing missed chances! “I thought the third [round] was close, he got me down but had no real control. I thought if I won the last round at least, I’d have a chance…” heavy underdog Erceg admits he was surprised at how well Pantoja scrambled during their grappling, wrestling exchanges
THEY say experience is invaluable at the best of times and while a painful life lesson, Steve Erceg has nothing to hang his head in shame about. It’s easy to say in hindsight, and we will never know, but had the 28-year-old Australian kept this fight on the feet during the final round, perhaps we’d have crowned a new champion.
To absorb that previous sentence in isolation, just 11 months after his promotional debut at another pay-per-view event in Canada, speaks to just how good he is.
Questions like these amplify that sentiment and not only did he not look overawed in there, but matched Pantoja after the Brazilian’s aggressive start in the opening round.
Elbows and slick punching through the guard was his modus operandi and seemed to work well for sustained periods, as Pantoja wasn’t defensively elusive and the challenger made sure to expose those risky tendencies in their stand-up exchanges.
Pantoja though, was throwing more often and while appearing weary, was expending energy aplenty with defensive wrestling to stifle Erceg’s better moments.
Astroboy was outlanded 34-22 in the third, but connected on the round’s biggest strike with an elbow and left hook combination that would’ve folded many a contender – as it did Matt Schnell during their matchup in early March.
Pantoja ate it flush before walking forward, unbothered.
Yet the champion was soon sporting a nasty cut to his forehead and, predictably, slowed down in the championship rounds. His corner, and that of his opponent, both felt he was probably 3-0 up so Erceg needed to step on the pedal.
Truthfully, you could make a case Pantoja was 2-1 down heading into the final ten minutes and that was only reiterated by Erceg’s R4 success.
Erceg’s output increased as Pantoja waned, the champion warned by his corner not to accept boxing on the backfoot against the cage and needed to be savvy picking his attacking moments.
As the Australian reasoned post-fight, Pantoja might’ve taken him down plenty but did little noteworthy action with such control on the ground.
Erceg reversed a takedown and had fleeting successful moments in the grappling department, though was guilty of being overzealous trying to overwhelm the champion during the final frame.
It proved a costly error in judgment and Pantoja gladly pounced, taking his back while optics certainly weren’t in the 28-year-old’s favour, no matter how many times he repeatedly handfought his way to the feet or smartly nullified threats prior.
The Rio crowd whistled their discontent as Erceg got away with a fence grab, clearly baying for a stoppage after seeing Pantoja worked so hard to keep this relatively unknown challenger at bay.
Although many expected a standout showing from the champion in his homecoming, this fight was there for the taking down the stretch and a bloodied Pantoja made sure he edged it.
The nuance of judges’ scoring criteria will again be questioned after another striking volume vs. damage debate emerged in R3, but that divisive topic says more about Erceg overachieving than anything else from a division where bonafide contenders to Pantoja’s throne were not clear.
As former title challenger and current #1 contender Brandon Royval watched cageside in south America, fresh and competitive matchups at 125lbs are sought-after.
Based on last weekend’s viewing, they are starting to emerge and that is a welcome sight.
Rest of main card
Many weren’t expecting this but 2023 Hall of Fame inductee Jose Aldo turned back the clock with a vintage performance over 15 minutes, dominating #12 ranked contender Jonathan Martinez to log a UD3 win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) for his first win since headlining a fight night card and beating Rob Font in December 2021.
Where exactly he fits into the bigger picture is unclear, as an unflattering display against #1 contender Merab Dvalishvili happened in August 2022 and critics will be quick to highlight this should any whispers of skipping the queue for a big fight or title eliminator is potentially in the offing. While this was nice, he retired for a reason.
Anthony Smith defended his #10 ranking at 205lbs with a fast finish against Contender Series graduate Vitor Petrino, submitting the previously-unbeaten Brazilian after just two minutes with a fast-thinking guillotine choke.
Lionheart reacted quickly to being lifted in mid-air by an ill-advised takedown, squeezing tightly on Petrino’s exposed head and seamlessly locking up the sub.
Much like his three-fight win streak between Nov. 2020 and Sept. 2021, all ending in the first round, Smith stressed there are levels to the game and will naturally look to re-establish his standing after a R3 TKO defeat by Khalil Rountree Jr last December.
Elsewhere, #14 ranked middleweight Michel Pereira wasted little time in scoring a highlight reel finish over Ihor Potieria with this below quickly going viral on social media despite commentators debating whether it was an illegal move in real-time.
Fortunately for the Brazilian, well-known for his acrobatic tendencies, it wasn’t deemed so and he quickly scored a guillotine choke submission win too.
Longtime light-heavyweight contender Paul Craig [13] isn’t known for his boxing skills and that deficiency was laid bare emphatically down a weight class at 185lbs, as home favourite Caio Borralho [14] stayed patient after repeatedly hurting the Scottish vet before setting up a devastating R2 KO win in a duel of ranked middleweights.
A wholesome moment captured below hours later, Caio finding out he earned one of the $50,000 performance bonuses – second in three fights – on his way home:
Prelim, early prelim results
Featherweight: Joanderson Brito bt. Jack Shore via TKO (doctor stoppage)
Women’s strawweight: Iasmin Lucindo bt. Karolina Kowalkiewicz [13] via UD3 (30-27 x 3)
Lightweight: Myktybek Orolbai bt. Elves Brener via UD3 (29-27 x 3)
Lightweight: Drakkar Klose bt. Joaquim Silva via UD3 (29-28 x 3)
Lightweight: Mauricio Ruffy bt. Jamie Mullarkey via R1 TKO (punches, 4:42)
Women’s flyweight: Dione Barbosa bt. Ernesta Kareckaite via UD3 (29-28 x 3)
Lightweight: Ismael Bonfim bt. Vinc Pinchel via UD3 (30-27 x 3)
Flyweight: Alessandro Costa bt. Kevin Borjas via R2 TKO (punches, 1:35)
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via UFC broadcast
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