Steve Erceg has just one fight to this name in the UFC, but the Australian already has his sights on a world title — and making history in the process.
Erceg (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who is already ranked at No.14 in the flyweight division after just one fight, is aiming to win UFC gold faster than any other Australian or New Zealand.
While still a fair few fights away from that becoming a reality, Erceg can take a step towards putting his name in those kinds of conversations on Sunday morning at UFC 295.
Erceg was initially slated to face the division’s No.8 ranked Matt Schnell — the kind of fight which, if he won, would have really added to the momentum the Australian is building.
Instead, with the American withdrawing from the fight, Erceg now will take on Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Alessandro Costa.
UFC 295: Prochazka vs Pereira | SUN 12th NOV 2PM AEDT | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports!
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It is not the same kind of challenge but Erceg told foxsports.com.au earlier in the week that he still knows he is in for a tough challenge.
“His biggest strength has to be his jiu jitsu,” Erceg said.
“He’s a black belt, and a decent one, but he just doesn’t use it all the time.
“Then you have his power, in both hands and legs. The guy knows how to use it too. And he’s tough. I know if I beat him I’ve done good.”
Costa though doesn’t seem too impressed with what he has seen from Erceg, who upset David Dvorak back in June to really announce himself in the UFC.
“He’s someone that’s long, so he’ll likely want to maintain the distance,” Costa told MMA Junkie in Spanish.
“We’ve been working on cutting the distance and fighting him up close. But more than anything, I’ve been studying his holes, and he has many flaws. I’ve also been fixing my own errors from previous fights, so that’s how we’ve been preparing.”
The fight between Erceg and Costa will be the final one on the preliminary card before attention turns towards the two title fights on the pay-per-view main card.
Headlining the action is a fight between former UFC light heavyweight champion and No. 1 ranked contender Jiri Prochazka and former middleweight title-holder and No. 3 Alex Pereira.
The pair will be facing off for the vacant light heavyweight title while the co-main event pits No. 2 contender Sergei Pavlovich against No. 4 Tom Aspinall for the interim heavyweight championship.
Pavlovich already holds the record for the longest UFC first-round knockout win streak (six) in the modern era.
Aspinall though has 12 first-round finishes of his own, meaning there is likely to be plenty of fireworks early in that clash of two heavyweight gladiators.
Earlier in the main card, former strawweight champion and current No. 5 ranked contender Jessica Andrade faces No. 7 Mackenzie Dern.
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FULL CARD + RESULTS
Main Card (2pm AEDT, PPV)
Light Heavyweight: Jiří Procházka vs. Alex Pereira for the UFC light heavyweight title
Heavyweight: Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tom Aspinall for the UFC interim heavyweight title
Women’s Strawweight: Mackenzie Dern vs. Jéssica Andrade
Lightweight: Matt Frevola vs. Benoît Saint-Denis
Featherweight: Diego Lopes vs. Pat Sabatini
Preliminary card (12pm AEDT on ESPN)
Flyweight: Steve Erceg vs. Alessandro Costa
Women’s Strawweight: Tabatha Ricci vs. Loopy Godinez
Lightweight: Mateusz Rębecki vs. Roosevelt Roberts
Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Lightweight: Jared Gordon vs. Mark Madsen
Bantamweight: John Castañeda vs. Kang Kyung-ho
Flyweight: Joshua Van vs. Kevin Borjas
Featherweight: Jamall Emmers def. Dennis Buzukja via first-round TKO
UFC 295: Prochazka vs Pereira | SUN 12th NOV 2PM AEDT | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports!
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