UFC 301 witnessed one of the most evenly fought battles between Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg in Brazil. The flyweight title was on the line, and both fighters were prepared to go the full distance. The pair entered the final round with nothing to choose between them. Eventually, the Brazilian won the fight via decision despite facing a tough challenge from the Australian.

And when former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen sat for a discussion with Phil Murphy and Brett Okamoto after the fight, down in the conversation, Uncle Chael pointed out the mistake made by the #10 ranked fighter, which cost him the fight.

Chael Sonnen reflects on the mistakes made by Steve Erceg at UFC 301

The #10 ranked flyweight fighter stepped into the Octagon with three consecutive victories behind him. Despite being an underdog, the Australian was determined to win the belt this time around. But destiny had other plans. With the scoreboard leveled at 2- 2, it seemed ‘Astroboy’ would walk away with the win. However, he made a strategic mistake: Erceg started the fifth round trying to take the fight to the ground, which is Pantoja’s strength. This is what allowed the Brazilian to control the fight and cost Erceg his opportunity.

After the fight, Chael Sonnen also pointed out the mistake made by him in his recent ESPN MMA show. Sonnen said, “But I would like to tell you this, fighters have this unwritten agreement that’s going on. And the agreement goes something like this when a guy’s putting pressure on you when he’s landing the strikes. You start to back off. As you start to back off the opponents who’s dominant starts to be a little bit nicer. He stands to land punches instead of elbows. Just by example, he starts to hold you in guard as opposed to pass. It’s an unspoken agreement that Erceg tore up in front of the world. Erceg had nothing to do with his contract. Erceg flipped the script. He was putting the pressure on him.”

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After his devastating loss, 27-year-old Erceg, in his recent interview, shared his mindset after the fight. Despite losing the fight, ‘Astroboy’ promised the fans that he would be back soon.

Steve Erceg was devastated but not broken

Despite being new to the UFC, Steve Erceg pushed the champion to the edge during his UFC  301 fight. He matched Pantoja toe to toe for the full fight, much to the surprise of many. The Australian entered the fifth round with the scorecard evenly poised. However, he couldn’t end up on the winning side and seemed devastated after his loss. In his recent interview with Full Send MMA Erceg shared his thought process after his fight. He said, “I knew it was close in the third, I knew that I won the fourth; if I could win the last round [I would] at least put myself in a position where I gave myself a chance.” 

The judges scored the bout as 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 in favor of the champion. This shows how evenly poised the battle today was. Erceg, in his post-fight interview, took the blame for his loss and seemed quite dejected. The 27-year-old  said, “Yeah, I am devastated. I came despite the short notice of all three fights in UFC. I came to win. Thought I could do it, thought I was finishing at the top. And he just scrambled me, gotta get better, and I will be back.”

At 27, the Australian definitely has the skill set to become a future champion. Hopefully, he learns from this fight and never breaks the ‘agreement’ again.

How impressed are you with Steve Erceg’s performance at UFC 301, if at all? Let us know in the comments below.