Australia’s Steve Erceg has declared himself ready to win a UFC title faster than Irishman Conor McGregor and almost as quickly as that WWE megastar who brought him to the sport – Brock Lesnar – after making weight in Rio de Janeiro this morning.
Erceg is looking to become one of the most unlikely champions in Australia’s proud fighting history when he faces reigning UFC flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 on Sunday.
Despite having made only three walks to the Octagon, and signed with the company just 11 months ago, the 28-year-old Perth native will become, with a win, only the nation’s third UFC champion – behind Robert Whittaker and Alexander Volkanovski.
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Having previously suggested he will need a security escort to leave the cage once he upsets Pantoja in his own backyard, Erceg was booed as he walked up onto the scales, where his weight was announced as 125pds (56.7kg).
The moment topped a crazy 30 minutes that saw Brazilian favorite Michel Pereira hit the scales and then, on stage, bust out a backflip, while Scotsman Paul Craig, face painted blue, literally ripped his shirt clean off before also making the ceremonial weigh in.
Better, the man he throws down against, hyped Brazilian middleweight Caio Borralho, was himself so pumped that, apart from having his own face painted in patriotic green and gold stripes, initially walked onto stage and straight past the scales, so ready was he to wait for Craig, and the face off.
Eventually, UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard pointed a shirtless Borralho to where he needed to be, before he and his Scottish rival enjoyed an intense staredown.
Yet Erceg?
Erceg ready to ‘beat up a Brazilian’ | 05:21
His appearance was exactly as you would expect a fella who this week dubbed himself the most boring fighter in the UFC.
With no fanfare, flags or face paint — only a large gold chain around his neck — he walked out, removed his shirt, then stood, hands behind his back, smiling. After which, he walked over, shook the hand of Maynard, who was handling proceedings in the absence of UFC boss Dana White, and waited for Pantoja to arrive.
Speaking on the microphone immediately afterwards, the challenger who is looking to create his own Rocky story said he was “super excited” before adding of the hostile atmosphere: “Getting to hear the boos, I’m very excited … can’t wait” .
With a win, Erceg will become the most unlikely name on a list of superstars who enjoyed incredibly quick runs to a UFC title – among them Anderson Silva, Rampage Jackson and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Incredibly, a win for the West Australian would also take him to a title faster than even New Zealand’s Israel Adesanya and Irish megastar McGregor – two fighters who both won interim titles in their sixth fight, and the real deal just one bout later.
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia this week, Erceg was also reminded that, should he win the title Sunday, he will also come within days of equaling the hyped title rise of the WWE superstar who grew up idolising, Lesnar.
In fact, the Aussie revealed he only started watching MMA when Lesnar initially switched across to the sport from wrasslin’ – amid huge expectation and headlines – way back in 2008, at UFC 81.
Told we thought the flyweight contender might be more of a Rey Mysterio fan, he laughed: “I was definitely a Rey Mysterio fan too.
“And my all-time favorite, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
“But Brock was definitely another.
“And with him being that first guy who moved over to MMA, with all the hype around it, all the media, the stories about him having to cut weight just to make the heavyweight limit, and the UFC having to make special gloves for his hands were so big … it all hooked me.
“I thought ‘how can this guy possibly lose?'”
But guess what?
Up against Frank Mir, Lesnar was submitted in just 90 seconds by a kneebar.
“Which only added to the excitement for me,” Erceg continued.
“Coming into that fight, I thought ‘oh, Brock has to be too big, too strong’.
“But then being a smaller guy myself, and watching as Mir – as the smaller underdog – went out there and got himself the win, that really resonated with me.”
So much so that Erceg started training in MMA and now, 16 years later, finds himself looking to win a world title in just four Octagon appearances – or one more than it took Lesnar to eventually take Randy Couture’s UFC heavyweight crown.
Asked now about inking his name alongside the US megastar who brought him to the sport, Erceg said: “To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about any of that until just now, with you mentioning it.
“But it’s definitely very cool.
“And funny how life works.
“You just have to stick to the path and good things come with that.”
The Aussie underdog added that he was happy to be the outsider for his world title showdown, given there had been similar vibes before ‘Volk’ upset UFC great Max Holloway for the featherweight crown.
It was the same, he added, for Whittaker when beating Cuban monster Yoel Romero for the UFC interim middleweight crown, which was later upgraded to the regular title.
“For whatever reason, it seems we Aussies have been underestimated for a long time,” Erceg said.
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“And that can be even after winning the belt
“With Volk, he only finally started to be truly recognized after beating Brian Ortega, which was after beating Holloway twice.
“Same with Rob Whittaker, who had to beat Romero twice.
“I don’t know what it is.
“But I just can’t wait to get out there this weekend.”
Pantoja, meanwhile, also weighed in at 125pds and when asked afterwards when the fans could expect, replied: “They can expect to see everything I’ve worked for my entire life.
“It’s great to be here.
“My wife, my mother, everyone is here.
“I’ve had a long read to get here and you’re going to see all of that tomorrow night.”
Elsewhere, the Central Coast’s Jamie Mullarkey also made weight for his UFC 301 undercard fight Mauricio Ruffy, brandishing an Australian flag as he hit the scales to weigh 155pds (70.3kg).
Luffy, meanwhile, weighed 156lbs (70.8kg).
