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Steve Erceg can’t wait to share the stage at UFC 301 with one of the greatest featherweights of all time — Jose Aldo.

On Saturday, May 4, UFC Hall of Famer returns to the Octagon for the first time in nearly two years when the promotion heads back to his home country for a loaded night of fights at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Stepping into the co-main event spotlight, ‘Junior’ will square off with streaking bantamweight standout Jonathan Martinez.

Speaking with Andrew Whitelaw in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview, Steve Erceg — who headlines UFC 301 opposite reigning and defending flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja — is thrilled about the opportunity to share MMA’s biggest stage with one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters the sport has ever seen.

“He’s one of my favorite fighters of all time,” Erceg said of Aldo. “My coach was a big leg kicker and Jose Aldo’s kicks to the leg are some of the best you’ll see. I’m a big fan of his and I understand that he probably won’t be a big fan of mine at the time, but it’s super cool to fight on a card with him and for Brazil. The ‘King of Rio’ is coming back. How can you not be excited?”

Steve Erceg breaks down his unlikely title fight with ‘the cannibal’ at UFC 301

Just three fights into his run with the promotion, Steve Erceg will fight for his first world title when he meets the flyweight division’s top dog, Alexandre Pantoja, in the UFC 301 headliner.

Pantoja goes into his latest defense with an overall record of 27-5 with eight of his wins coming by way of knockout and another 10 via submission. Recognizing the well-roundedness of his opponent, Erceg knows that he’s in for a tough test, but is undeniably excited for the opportunity to show up and show out against the best of the best.

“He’s very good. Obviously, he’s a world champion,” Erceg said. “His ground game is his best asset. He’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu. He’s great off the back and he’s a lot stronger than I think people give him credit for. There are positions where his opponent will get underhooks and you expect them to use that to get up, but they can’t seem to find an avenue to move.

“The other asset I guess would be his chin. He does a lot of things wrong on the feet, but he gets away with it because of his chin. He’s a great fighter. He’s tough. I’m not gonna just run over him. It’s going to be a very hard well-fought fight and we’re going to see who the best man is.”

As for how Erceg plans on leaving Brazil with UFC gold wrapped around his waist, ‘AstroBoy’ believes it will come down to controlling the pace and taking away opportunities for the champ to gather himself mid-fight.

“If I let him dictate the pace, that is bad for me,” Erceg added. “I have to make sure that I take it out of his realm. He does burst really hard when he’s going, but he does need those rests to get his breath back and continue on with the fight. If I can take those rests away, I think it’s going to be a bad night for him.”

Currently, Pantoja is a sizeable favorite going into the scrap, sitting at -250 on a majority of sportsbooks. An understandable spot considering he holds victories over some of the biggest names to come through 125, including Manel Kape, Brandon Royval, Alex Perez, and former flyweight titleholder Brandon Moreno on two separate occasions.

“He’s beaten a lot of guys who I thought were more talented, that’s for sure. … He’s definitely got some good genetics,” Erceg concluded.

Watch the full exclusive interview with Steve Erceg below:

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Justin Gaethje may be a savage in the octagon but he’s a gentleman outside the cage.

Despite a heartbreaking loss in the “BMF” title fight at UFC 300, the always exciting human highlight reel still took time to congratulate opponent Max Holloway on a job well done in his first public comments afterwards. Gaethje took to Twitter after the event to send a message to Holloway and offer a quick update on his condition.

“I’m in great spirits with my family,” Gaethje wrote. “Thanks for all the love. What a sport. Max Holloway, you’re a dog. Congrats. Well deserved double bonus.”

It was a tough night at the office for Gaethje, who suffered a gruesome broken nose at the end of the opening round after Holloway connected on a spinning back kick just before the horn sounded. The broken nose continued to give Gaethje problems all night long, especially with Holloway targeting that same injury with a barrage of jabs and straight punches throughout the fight.

Even with a mangled nose, Gaethje still gave Holloway everything he could handle including a knockdown — that was later ruled a slip — as he continued to engage with him in every, single exchange.

The end came after Holloway pointed to the ground in the center of the cage and invited Gaethje to trade punches with him during the final 10 seconds in the fight. That’s when Holloway uncorked a devastating right hand that blasted Gaethje and sent him crashing face first to the canvas.

The fight ended with just one second left on the clock.

It certainly wasn’t the outcome Gaethje wanted, especially with so much riding on the fight.

A win would have almost guaranteed Gaethje a title shot at reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev later this year but that all goes away now. Instead, Gaethje has to lick his wounds and live to fight another day after Holloway ended his night in dramatic fashion.

He will walk away with an extra $ 300,000 after earning Fight of the Night honors with Holloway getting the same along with another $ 300,000 for Performance of the Night at UFC 300.

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LAS VEGAS – UFC middleweight Bo Nickal talked about his UFC 300 win over Cody Brundage, answered Khamzat Chimaev’s criticism of his performance, talked about what he wants next, and more.

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UFC 300 Reaction
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UFC

Prochazka has his sights set on a rematch with UFC light heavyweight champion Pereira, and he promises he won’t come up short when they fight again.

Jiri Prochazka has a new quest in his mixed martial arts career, and it’s to slay the monster known as Alex Pereira.

Prochazka already tasted Pereira’s strength back at UFC 295 in New York City. “Poatan” knocked Jiri out in the second round of their light heavyweight title fight, a loss Prochazka blames on ‘small details.’

Prochazka bounced back at UFC 300 with a violent knockout of Aleksandar Rakic, one that earned him a $ 300,000 performance bonus. And the Czech fighter watched in awe as Pereira won his main event against Jamahal Hill via effortless first round KO.

“I saw him, saw his performance … amazing,” Prochazka said in an interview with The Schmo. “And I have to say, now I’m starting to take it seriously. Because for me, this is something that I want to do, I want to achieve this victory. And when I want something, I will achieve that. So watch me.”

“I have to do some little upgrades on myself to not catching some punches, to make a perfect storm,” he added. “But with Alex, Alex knows that, and he knew that, even in New York, even in his hometown, he understood that I have the keys to win the fight.”

If he wants a rematch against Alex Pereira, he’s going to have to become undeniable. Following UFC 300, “Poatan” stated he had no interest in facing Prochazka again unless the UFC demanded it. So for now Jiri will have to continue improving, and winning.

“For me, it’s right now, most important for me is to improve myself in training and to take this experience from tonight to the next fight, as soon as possible,” Jiri said at the post-fight press conference. “Because I’m still learning. I’m still learning how to connect my, like, that violence and that hound instinct with the mastery, technique, with, present moments to keep it all in one.”

As for the $ 300,000 bonus he received for knocking out Rakic, Prochazka was his usual samurai self.

“We are not fighting for the money, we are fighting because it’s in our blood,” he told The Schmo solemnly. “It’s our will to win the fight. To make the best performance, not because of money.”

“But with money you are free and you can do good things,” he added. “So I appreciate it.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts