Steve Erceg is determined to prove he is ‘here to be the best guy in the world’ and claim the UFC Flyweight title in the process.
Pantoja vs Erceg headlines a stacked UFC 301 card set for May 4 at the Jeunesse Arena as the promotion head back to Rio De Janeiro with an exciting four fight card.
When the bout was announced, it was met with a lot of surprise on social media with fans being shocked that Erceg would be the next man to challenge for the Flyweight strap. ‘Astroboy’ now finds himself competing for UFC gold in just his fourth fight with the promotion, having secured wins against David Dvorak and Alessandro Costa last year, before stopping Matt Schnell at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev.
Speaking to the media prior to his upcoming bout, Erceg is more than aware that people were shocked and is determined to prove that he is more than deserving of the title shot.
“Yeah. I mean, I know that I wasn't on the top of everybody's mind when it came to a title shot, but just the way the division was, Pantoja had already beaten a lot of the challengers and people are injured. And the only other guy that really was in line for the shot was Mokaev and I was on the same card as him.
“I had a more exciting fight than he did and the UFC decided to give me a shot. And I mean, I'm here to be the best guy in the world. So whether I'm an underdog, whether I'm the favorite, it doesn't really matter to me. I'm going to go in there, I'm going to fight another dude in the cage and whoever's best going to come out on top,”
Discussing his game plan the number 10 ranked Flyweight revealed he is ready for however the fight plays out, whether it be a highly technical affair, or he gets pulled into the trenches.
“I think I am going to hold range, walk him in to space, I am going to hit him from angles and that sort of thing and I know he's a real tough guys at some point is going to get sloppy.
“He's going to get it scrappy. And I'm keen to prove that I'm not just a technical guy. I'm also a tough guy.”
The narrative heading into the contest seems to very much revolved around the idea that Erceg has nothing to lose. Although the Australian understands why some people feel that way, he believes there is just as much pressure on his as there is on the champion. He said:
“So honestly, I believe there's just as much pressure on me as there is on Pantoja. I know that, Yeah, technically, he’s the champ, the favorite and all that sort of stuff. But I've been working for this dream my whole life and this is.
“Yeah, this is the culmination of all my hard work. So to lose here would be, like, devastating for me. So I've got plenty of pressure on my shoulders and I'm confident in all the work I've done over the years. I've trained very hard for a very long time. I've missed holidays, I’ve missed birthdays, I missed all sorts of different things to make this dream a reality. And that's what I'm going to go out there and do.”
