Alexandre Loureiro/Zuffa LLC by way of Getty Photos
Alexandre Pantoja remained the champion of the UFC’s flyweight division with a unanimous determination win over Steve Erceg to shut out the UFC 301 major card from Rio de Janeiro.
Pantoja got off to a good start in the first round. Erceg landed a few clean shots but The Cannibal wisely turned to his grappling. He took the Australian to the mat and a theme for the fight was born.
Any doubt that Erceg could hang in a championship fight despite his inexperience were erased by the second round. He stung Pantoja with his hands a few times in the round before the champion took him down and utilized his wrestling again.
The third round was where things got really interesting. Erceg landed a standing elbow that landed cleanly and split Pantoja’s face open.
The cut wasn’t quite enough to end the fight, but it was still a nasty development for Pantoja:
ESPN MMA @espnmma
Pantoja’s cut 😳 #UFC301 pic.twitter.com/uZEuh9X9GM
The first three rounds were close but leaned toward Pantoja. However, Erceg clearly won the fourth round with a varied boxing attack.
The fight was a toss up going into the fifth round and Erceg was making a case to win it. However, his inexperience caught up with him as he went for an ill-advised takedown.
Pantoja found his way on top in the ensuing scramble and he rode out the rest of the fifth round.
Either way, Erceg earned a lot of respect as a big part of this division’s future.
E. Spencer Kyte @spencerkyte
This is just a tremendous fight and another case for why you just make the next fight up, regardless of if the potential challenger is “a big name” or not.
Give Belal his shot. Give Merab his shot. Next person up, whoever it is. #UFC301
Regardless of how long Pantoja is able to hold onto the belt, this will always be a top moment from his reign. The opportunity to defend the belt in a fighter’s hometown does not always happen.
The Rio native rose to the occasion, though. Taking out a contender that has shown a lot of promise in a short time with the UFC. The 28-year-old Erceg only had three fights in the UFC before getting his title shot, but he has already demonstrated that he’s likely to re-climb the mountain at some point.
However, this night was about a full-circle moment for Pantoja.
“I left Brazil with nothing, now I’m back with the crown, as the king, with the belt; champion of the world in the most important MMA promotion, back to my country, my town,” Pantoja said before the fight, per E. Spencer Kyte of UFC.com.
For now, Pantoja can deal with different challenges. For starters, he’ll attempt to turn out to be simply the second champion ever to defend the belt 3 times.
The flyweight belt has been notoriously tough to maintain since Demetrious Johnson left in 2017. He defended the belt 11 instances in a 2,142-day championship run.
Since then, Deiveson Figueiredo is the one one to retain it twice and a type of was as a consequence of a draw with Brandon Moreno in December 2020.
Pantoja is the primary since Johnson was the inaugural champion really to defend it twice with victories in each bouts.
There’s nonetheless loads of work for Pantoja to do within the division, although. Naysayers shall be fast to level out that Erceg was solely ranked tenth within the UFC rankings. Whereas he was wins over No. 1 and No. 2, Brandon Royval and Brandon Moreno respectively, there are nonetheless challengers left.
Royval is already engaged on a case for a rematch after besting Moreno in February. Amir Albazi would make sense. He was presupposed to struggle Moreno on that card however was compelled off with harm.
Both manner, Pantoja has established himself as the person to beat at 125.