Undisputed flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja is set for his return to the Octagon later this summer – on home soil in a title fight defense against current number ten ranked contende, Australia’s Steve Erceg at UFC 301 on May 4. in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from the Jeunesse Arena.
Pantoja, the current undisputed flyweight champion, most recently co-headlined UFC 296 back in December, successfully defending his title in a rematch win over recent UFC Mexico City headliner, Brandon Royval – in turn lodging his first successful title defense.
As for Erceg, the three-fight Octagon veteran appears to have earned his first crack at organizational gold off the back of a second round KO win over Matt Schnell earlier this month at UFC Vegas 87 – which also landed him a Performance of the Night bonus.
Alexandre Pantoja meets Steve Erceg at UFC 301
The promotion’s official UFC Brasil account confirmed the pairing of Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg for the May pay-per-view card in South America this Friday night.
“Main fight confirmed,” the UFC Brasil account posted tonight, as translated by Google Translate. “The flyweight champion @PantojaMMA fights at home and defends his belt against Steve Erceg at #UFC301, in Rio de Janeiro.”
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O campeão peso-mosca
@PantojaMMA luta em casa e defende o cinturão contra
Confira como você pode garantir o seu ingresso:
18 Mar | 12h: pré-venda para assinantes do UFC Fight Pass
19 Mar… pic.twitter.com/ml7emUje4T— UFC Brasil (@UFCBrasil) March 15, 2024
Steve Erceg no
Initially winning gold back in July of last year during International Fight Week, Pantoja turned in another career win over defending champion, Brandon Moreno, to land the championship in a split decision success.
The victory came as part of an impressive current five fight winning run for Rio native, Pantoja, who previously landed wins over Alex Perez, the above-mentioned, Royval, and a decision success against the highly-touted, Manel Kape.
12-1 as a professional, submission expert, Erceg landed in the Dana White-led promotion back in June of last year with a decision win over David Dvorak, before besting Alessandro Costa at UFC 295 in another judging win in Madison Square Garden in November last – prior to his knockout of Schnell earlier this month.
Who leaves Brazil with gold after UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja or Steve Erceg?