The Ultimate Fighting Championship has decided who
will get the next crack at flyweight gold, and it will come as a
surprise to many.
The promotion announced
on Friday that Alexandre
Pantoja (27-5) will be putting his flyweight strap on the line
against Australia’s Steve Erceg
(12-1) at UFC 301.
The 125-pound championship affair will not likely serve as its main
event, although additional championship bouts or other matches that
could be the headliner have not yet been announced. This will be
Pantoja’s second attempted defense of his 125-pound title while
serving as the first time he has competed in his home country of
Brazil since joining the promotion in 2017.
Pantoja has pounded through the flyweight ranks since 2021,
stringing together five wins over elite opposition to get him a
title shot in 2023. At UFC 290, “The Cannibal” rematched former foe
Brandon
Moreno and captured a split decision to go up 3-0 over Moreno,
including an encounter on the 24th season of “The Ultimate
Fighter.” Pantoja successfully defended his throne at UFC 296 in
December, staving off hard-charging contender and past adversary
Brandon
Royval by unanimous verdict.
“Astro Boy” Erceg shoots into the orbit of the championship picture
courtesy of three wins inside the Octagon. Erceg debuted in
mid-2023 to upset David
Dvorak on the scorecards, and he went on to beat Alessandro
Costa over three rounds later that year. Erceg stamped his
golden ticket in March by annihilating Matt
Schnell with one punch at UFC Fight Night 238. The knockout of
Schnell served as just the second in the 28-year-old’s career.
UFC 301 will occur at the Rio Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The
main attraction for the May 4 show has not yet been decided,
although likely in the co-headlining spot will be a 125-pound
championship tilt between Alexandre
Pantoja and Steve
Erceg. Other key fights on the billing include Anthony
Smith vs. Vitor
Petrino at light heavyweight, as well as newly announced
pairings of Michel
Pereira vs. Makhmud
Muradov in the middleweight division and Karolina
Kowalkiewicz–Iasmin
Lucindo in a battle of the strawweights.