Alexandre ‘The Cannibal’ Pantoja will seek a second successful defence of his flyweight championship when he faces Steve Erceg in the main event of UFC 301, set for the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the morning of Sunday 5 May 2024.
Pantoja (27-5) made the first defence of his title when he defeated Brandon Royval by unanimous decision at UFC 296 in December 2023, a fifth successive win for the 33-year-old Brazilian.
Erceg (12-1) is a relative unknown who only recently broke into the top 10 of the division’s rankings, but has put together an 11-match winning streak, most recently stopping Matt Schnell in March to continue his rise to prominence.
The 28-year-old Australian may have seemingly ‘jumped the queue’ to upset fighters higher up the rankings, but Pantoja sees him as a credible threat.
“He's a very tough opponent. I believe that, at this moment, he is more difficult than [Brandon] Royval, than [Brandon] Moreno, because he is a guy who comes from behind, with nothing to lose,” said ‘The Cannibal’.
“He is number 10 in the ranking, he comes fresh in the weight class. The only thing against it is that I think I have more experience of fighting. I believe this will be used by me in the Octagon.”
'PICK HIM APART'
‘Astro Boy’, meanwhile, believes he will have too much in terms of striking and backs himself to get the better of the champion.
“I just think there's a lot of holes [in Pantoja’s game], especially on the feet. He gets away with them because he is so tough. I don't think that's going to work against me,” Erceg explained.
“Yeah, I just think I'm going to pick him apart. That being said, it’s not like I'm going to be able to stay on the outside the whole time, I fully expect him to find ways to get to the grappling, that sort of thing. But I’m no chump there. I’m also a black belt.
“Before people started calling me a knockout guy cause I had one knockout... I was a ‘grappler’ in the UFC so I’m fully confident in my skills on the ground and in the grapple and I think I separate myself with the striking technique.”
The rest of the main card features more Brazilians in each match: in a bantamweight bout, veteran and MMA legend Jose Aldo takes on Jonathan Martinez; Michel Pereira faces Ihor Potieria in the middleweight division; a light heavyweight clash pits Anthony Smith against Vitor Pedrino; and a middleweight opener sees Paul Craig face Caio Borralho.
UFC 301 – Main card
- Main event: Flyweight championship: Alexandre Pantoja v Steve Erceg
- Bantamweight: Jonathan Martinez v Jose Aldo
- Light heavyweight: Anthony Smith v Vitor Pedrino
- Middleweight: Michel Pereira v Ihor Potieria
- Middleweight: Paul Craig v Caio Borralho