Steve Erceg's final-round gaffe against Pantoja costs him at UFC 301

Steve Erceg gave a terrific account of himself for more than 4.5 rounds at UFC 301 and was possibly on the verge of becoming the new UFC men’s flyweight champion before a puzzling decision in the final round likely cost him an upset victory over Alexandre Pantoja.

Instead of a new champ being crowned, the Brazilian champion ended up earning a unanimous decision win, albeit a tightly contested one, in Saturday’s main event in front of a home crowd in Rio de Janiero to become the first 125-pound champion since Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson to defend the belt two consecutive times.

Pantoja charged forward aggressively early in the opening round like he usually does, but Erceg would not be bullied. The 28-year-old Australian, in only his fourth UFC appearance, countered well, shrugged off Pantoja’s first takedown attempt effortlessly and landed several crisp combinations to get Pantoja’s attention and respect. He let the champ know this wasn’t going to be an easy night at the office.

Erceg entered the bout with only 13 pro fights on his record but performed well beyond his level of experience. After losing the first five minutes on all judges’ scorecards due to Pantoja’s pressure and control time in the second half of the first round, the challenger began finding his rhythm and landing impact offence of his own. 

Erceg connected at a high rate and rendered Pantoja’s three successful takedowns in the second mostly ineffective. An inadvertent clash of heads resulted in a cut above Erceg’s forehead but he later bloodied Pantoja with a clean elbow that pierced his opponent’s guard.

Pantoja won the third round but two of the three judges scored the second round for Erceg, who also won the fourth, which meant whoever won Round 5 would leave the arena with the gold.

Pantoja’s durability was tested repeatedly throughout the 25-minute scrap and Erceg was finding his spots in the fifth. Pantoja, tough as shoe leather, was noticeably slower than he had been in previous rounds and Erceg was landing effectively at range, yet he inexplicably attempted multiple takedowns in the final round, the second of which resulted in Pantoja winding up in top position after a scramble. The final 90 seconds were spent with the champion on top.

Pantoja got his hand raised via unanimous decision after 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 scorecards were read out.

Theoretically, had Erceg not gone for that late takedown and instead controlled the final 90 seconds of action on his feet, he could’ve won a split decision and would be the new champion.

“I thought it could’ve been 2-2 or 3-1 for him,” Erceg told Full Send MMA of his mindset heading into the final five minutes. “I knew it was close in the third. I knew I won the fourth. I knew if I could win the last round I’d likely put myself in the position that I’d give myself a chance and I blew it.”

Half of Erceg’s wins in MMA have come by submission so he’s not lacking skills or confidence in the grappling department whatsoever, but Pantoja is regarded as an elite scrambler and back-taker so Erceg’s post-fight comments that he “was surprised how well (Pantoja) could scramble” was perhaps a sign the young challenger still has some work to do on the strategy and game planning side of things.

Or, it may serve as motivation in the training room as he works his way back into a position to challenge for the belt a second time. 

“I really thought if I could get him down I’d eat up the time on the ground and make him even more tired and then I’d win on the feet more, so I probably would’ve done the exact same thing just next time I’d need to be better at it,” Erceg added.

The champ landed 125 of his 242 significant strike attempts (51 per cent) after five rounds were complete with Erceg hitting on 111 of 212 (52 per cent). The challenger was more effective attacking the head, while Pantoja spread out his strikes across the head, body and legs to keep his opponent constantly on guard.

Pantoja was also successful with his takedowns, setting a new personal record by getting Erceg ot the ground nine times on a whopping 19 attempts.

What Erceg did prove with his performance was that his quick rise to a title shot was no fluke and that he’ll be a factor at the top of this division for the foreseeable future.

Pantoja has become accustomed to participating in rematches throughout his career – he’s a combined 5-0 against No. 1-ranked contender Brandon Royval and No. 2-ranked Brandon Moreno – and Erceg just gave him the toughest test of his current six-fight winning streak.

Does that mean another rematch could soon be in the cards for Pantoja? We will see how the remainder of 2024 plays out, but a second serving of Pantoja-Erceg down the line would carry plenty of intrigue.

UFC 301 marked the UFC’s 12th trip to Rio de Janeiro since 2011 but the main event deserved a better reaction than the one it got from those in attendance at Farmasi Arena. It was a terrific championship fight where your guy wins a thrilling decision, and you flood out while one of two Brazilian champions on the UFC roster is giving his post-victory speech? 

It wasn’t a good look for the Brazilian fan base, but perhaps they had no more energy after Jose Aldo turned back the clock and received a standing ovation following his co-main event victory over Jonathan Martinez.

The former UFC and WEC champion, affectionately known as “The King of Rio”, returned to the city in which he earned memorable title defences against Chad Mendes (twice) and the Korean Zombie after ending a brief retirement.

It had been nearly two years since Aldo last competed in the UFC after he announced his retirement from MMA in 2022. “Retirement” for Aldo included competing in three pro boxing bouts and staying in top condition, so he wanted to see what he could still do in the sport that made him a star. 

The 37-year-old was his usual fast-twitch self and he swept the scorecards against a rising contender to prove he definitely still has plenty left in the tank.

Aldo and Martinez are two of the better leg-kickers in the sport and that was a theme on the undercard with Joanderson Brito and Alessandro Costa both utilizing the technique to earn stoppages during their preliminary-card victories earlier in the night.

Aldo was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2023 and joining him in 2024 will be another one of Brazil’s most popular UFC stars. Former UFC and Pride champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was announced on the broadcast as the latest member of the 2024 HOF Class. 

In a fitting twist of fate, three of Shogun’s former opponents partook in each of the first three matchups on the pay-per-view portion of the event. Shogun was finished by Anthony Smith, Paul Craig and Ihor Potieria long after his bet days were behind him.

Craig and Potieria were on the wrong end of highlight stoppages to Caio Borralho and Michel Pereira, respectively.

One-time light-heavyweight title contender Smith got back in the win column. Smith, 35, locked in a guillotine choke early in the first round as his previously undefeated opponent Vitor Petrino attempted a takedown he surely regretted in hindsight. Smith bounced back from a December TKO loss to Khalil Roundtree and did it with the current 205-pound champ Alex Pereira watching from the front row. Petrino, 26, fell to 11-1 as a pro.

Petrino was one of only three Brazilians on the card to lose on Saturday and one of only two betting favourites to lose. Smith and Aldo were the lone betting dogs to get their hand raised.

The Performance of the Night winners for UFC 301 were Pereira, Borralho, Costa and Mauricio Ruffy, who turned in a possible star-making performance on the prelims.