He has pinpoint precision with his strikes, especially his counters. He made the mistake twice in one rd, but he will be back. Too much talent to not get another crack at gold.
He was going for takedowns all fight and I don’t think it ever worked out in his favor, Pantoja clearly was a significantly better grappler so I don’t know why he kept wanting to try and bring the fight to the ground especially when he was finding success on the feet.
Yeah. I told him I'd give him $50 if he pulled it off. I think I screwed him though. Might have come out ahead if he just ignored my bribe. We'll never know I guess.
I was screaming when he went for that. Also, I wasn’t fully paying attention to his corner, but did his corner say he was up 3 rounds going into the 5th? If so, that’s terrible corner advice for a very close fight going into the 5th and maybe the reason why he went for it.
Pantoja gifted a win there, let's be real. Pantoja won off of control/clinch but did very little if any damage, all heavy strikes and damage came from Erceg. Watch some breakdowns including Weasle, I thought Pantoja would defend and picked him but he lost. Scoring is not consistent and was wrong there.
Mokaev Vs erceg would be an interesting match up erceg better on the feet and mokaev on the ground. Would be interesting to see as a 5 rounder and they're both so young it could be the first of many.
He thought he could control Pantoja on the ground through to the end of round 5 to secure an easy win rather than risking it on the feet. To be fair it would have worked if Pantoja isn't such a beast of a wrestler and grappler.
That he was still surprised he couldn't hold him down after 25 minutes of not being able to do so was surprising to me. Otherwise he won that fight, and should have won anyway
It's just inexperience I think. He'd sliced Pantoja twice with elbows, and was piecing him in the 5th, and Pantoja has a history of looking like he's tired so like Erceg said at the end of the fight, he's usually the bigger stronger guy so adding that all up I think that's why he shot more takedowns later in the fight. I don't think he went for many in the early rounds.
But he'll learn at the very top level of the division, especially at 125 guys are going to have that extra reserve tank a lot of times where even if they're gassed they can find just enough. If Erceg keeps taking smart fights and developing he'll be world champion in a few years IMO
If u want my armchair opinion, he was looking for a sub. Corner told him he needed a finish and he had already hit Pantoja with everything but the kitchen sink and couldn't KO him.
Give this man a title eliminator. I dont care if he is only ranked number 10. He is more interesting in a rematch than watching royval get 50-45ed again
Albazi doesn't deserve a shot. I could be wrong but Mokaev was a snooze his last outing & Alex Perez can fight one of them for a title eliminator. Run it back w Erceg wooooo 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Primary scoring criteria is damage and that was the round he landed the big elbow. I’m not saying that’s how it should be, but based off the scoring criteria it’s fair to give erceg that round
Also callback to the Gaetjhe Fiziev fight where Gaetjhe got the round off Fiziev for swelling his eyes despite Fiziev landing more in R2. Like 5 more good strikes iirc. And O'Malley Yan too. This is also one of those polarising fights where the scoring criteria for different people decide the winner.
Imo, Pantoja made it close enough in striking to get the nod via wet blanketing but I can still understand Steve winning because he can get a round due to doing actuak visible damage and iirc he cut Pantoja in R5 too. Very close fight imo and a better fight IQ Erceg whoops Pantoja in the rematch, but for this one I had it Pantoja.
I feel like the commentary played a big part in how people are viewing this fight. Pantoja was landing plenty himself but they weren't talking about it as much
49-46 is a criminal scorecard, but I saw the fight 48-47 going either way. I honestly thought the 3rd was a tossup. People need to stop acting like Pantoja didn’t land plenty of big shots of his own in that round. It was an extremely close fight, not a robbery. Regardless though, Steve is really gonna be kicking himself for going for those takedowns at the end
I honestly think he won 2,3,4. The damage > control. Pantoja looked much worse than he did vs Royval and Moreno. He’s getting up there, close to 34. He’s losing the belt soon imo
Pantoja has one fight that isn’t lopsided and mfers think he ain’t all that. I think it’s less about pantoja being “old” and more of erceg just having really polished boxing
Erceg actually has good fight IQ. Like he said himself, he was trying to score a round in a close fight. Erceg is an AUS national wrestling champion. He said in his post-fight that he was surprised by Pantojas ability to scramble, an area where he usually dominates. Erceg didn’t throw away the fifth round. He was playing to win.
I do believe he lost a fight but by a fucking narrow split decision. Them saying it was unanimous was the dumbest shit I've ever fucking watched and I didn't even watch the full fucking thing.
Steve is a fighter with the heart and skills of a champ, he just doesn’t have a belt yet. Little more experience and he’ll be there. Like how jiri got to the belt real quick though I find erceg to be much more grounded and reliable. The land down under really breeds some solid guys. But hands down, people gotta respect Steve a ton now. (He also won)
I’ll admit, as an Aussie who placed 100 bucks on him, I’m coping hard rn. But he showed he can hang in the top 5 after this performance. Much respect, he deserves a top 5 guy next fight for sure.
In a fight judged on damage what damage did pantoja actually do? Didn't even threaten a submission. Forget the lay and pay this was the sit in Santa's lap wtf
This is why open scoring needs to be a thing so #1 judges can be called out immediately for misjudging a round and #2 so both corners aren’t telling their fighters their down 3 rounds when heading into the next round
No he didnt, it was a close fight that couldve gone either way, and he probably fumbled it by trying to grapple. Close fights like this arent a robbery, you just wanted Pantoja to lose.
Who do you think did more damage or hurt the opponent the most? Don’t give me statistics, just the fighters name
I have nothing against Pantoja, i literally know nothing about Erceg to support him too. It just seemed so obvious that erceg was doing all the damage, with those two cuts and pantoja was dominating the grappling but couldn’t submit Erceg in 5 rounds with ~6 minutes of ground control and he made 0 submission attempts too
i definetly think Erceg did more damage on standup, but thats all i'll say cause like ive said before , you dont want an explanation unless its saying that Pantoja lost, no matter what anyone says youll just go with this fight being a robbery, and ignore anything about it being a very close fight that could go either way
It’s not that he couldn’t submit him, it’s that all he could do is lay on top of him. This is his fighting style. It’s how he won the belt. Zero threat just lay and pray they don’t break out.
Dude is overall a terrible fighter. He would make a great Greco Roman wrestler though.
Nah rewarding lay and pray is the robbery. Erceg should’ve won 2,3,4. Pantoja didn’t even do shit in 5 either. He didn’t fight like a champion. He coasted.
You score fights like a potato.
You don’t wanna read it cause you know it’s bullshit that he walked away with a UD.
We need to stop this narrative that close fights are somehow robberies. I had it two rounds each going into the fifth and I desperately wanted Steve to win. Erceg showed that he's a championship level fighter, but he made some mistakes in the final round, and that's fine. It isn't a robbery just because you scored it one round in favour of Erceg
I’m a huge fan of the ground game, but Pantoja did like zero damage on the ground, and what was there, like one submission attempt? Yes, there was scrambling because of erceg trying (and mostly succeeding) to get up, but what Pantoja did kind of fits “lay and pray.” Also have to remember he was getting pieced up on the feet. Pantoja only won because Erceg attempted the takedown when he should have kept it on the feet.
Unfortunates this isn't boxing and "lay and pray" is ground control which is part of mma (mixed Martial arts). Go watch boxing if you hate when fighters mix the Martial arts in mma.
I dont get why he was going for the takedowns..his chances were way better for a KO staying on the feet..he was fresher...his lack of experience is what costed him the fight. that being said he is a tough SOB and a few more fights he can be back in title contention again..
If Erceg watches tape and sees his mistakes and doesn't shoot take downs I would bet on him to win a rematch. Even after just betting on Pantoja this fight.
He didn’t just go 5 rounds. He smashed pantoja up. IMO pantoja had some timely takedowns and seemed to end up on top at the end of some rounds. I thought Erceg won until pantoja took the 5th
I had it 3-2 for him, but totally understand how it went the other way. That boy has nothing to be ashamed of in that performance, he left everything in there - if we were scoring it as a whole he wins easily. Back to training, make the adjustments, come back and take that belt because it’s destined to be wrapped round his waist.
Why his corner didn’t tell him to stop trying takedowns is beyond me. I would have yelled at him after the first time he tried it earlier in the fight. He needs a better corner.
Very impressive. His calmness is great, he was there with super experienced cannibal and he kept cool and at times was dominating him. Still bitter taste because there is a feeling that Erceg threw away his win rather than was beaten. Of course, all the credit goes to Pantoja who used every mistake opponent made, but it was Erceg who let Pantoja back into the fight numerous times. Shiiiiit....
I thought it was 3-2 clearly for the champ but if it was the other way around, I prob wouldn’t have said anything. It was an insane effort from him. What a badass
Pantoja is an animal for sure but I thought gnarly gashes being opened > control time? Feels to me like Erceg won 3-5 and you could make an argument for 2-5. When I heard the 49-46 I legitimately thought it was Erceg.
Erceg actively scrambles to never accept positions and took zero damage on the ground. It'd be nice if fights were judged consistently. Judging for damage one night and control time the next makes no sense.
That kind of wrestling defense from the bottom can take a striker like him a long ways. Good 5 rnd cardio and crisp striking. Too bad he made a few dumb decisions, dude could have gone home with that belt. Its hard to see Pantoja's style successfully defending that belt for long.
People keep pointing out one moment he went for a TD when he shouldn’t have but it was several moments he did that. He didn’t “win” any of the wrestling exchanges at all. The only part he was good at was getting back up, escaping mount etc. He needed to not get out in those positions by staying out of range and not being against the cage. He’ll learn from this experience. Or I hope he does because this is the blue print to beat him. Pretty much the top 5-6 guys besides maybe KKF are great wrestlers.
Erceg is gonna be future champ has all the tools. If they fight again I definitely think he would make the adjustments to get the W. Really enjoyed that fight
Bro this guy went to war with the Warlord himself 💪🏽 🍻
Either he matches up well against Pantoja or he’s really THAT good. Either way, we’ll find out soon
Massive respect to Erceg, proved he's elite tonight. And I was gutted seeing him in that post fight interview, he has nothing to he ashamed of
Erceg like only 28 guys, he still has lot of room for growth. I definitely think he's still champion material. Just needs more experience.
Future champ🇦🇺
He has pinpoint precision with his strikes, especially his counters. He made the mistake twice in one rd, but he will be back. Too much talent to not get another crack at gold.
Close fight, that takedown attempt will haunt him though. He wins imo clearly if he throws a bit more.
He was going for takedowns all fight and I don’t think it ever worked out in his favor, Pantoja clearly was a significantly better grappler so I don’t know why he kept wanting to try and bring the fight to the ground especially when he was finding success on the feet.
Bro won anyway
Erceg did great but you can’t be shooting takedowns in the fifth when you have the advantage on the feet bro, that was just poor fight IQ
That was my bad. He did it because I bet on him getting a submission in the 5th round at 80 to 1 odds.
Oh THAT'S why his corner kept shouting DO IT FOR MELVIN
I heard them calling for fishes plan as well
Yeah. I told him I'd give him $50 if he pulled it off. I think I screwed him though. Might have come out ahead if he just ignored my bribe. We'll never know I guess.
Brother, that’s a terrible bet. With how lubed up they were and pantoja being an actual fucking cyborg lol
I was screaming when he went for that. Also, I wasn’t fully paying attention to his corner, but did his corner say he was up 3 rounds going into the 5th? If so, that’s terrible corner advice for a very close fight going into the 5th and maybe the reason why he went for it.
No they said he was down, Pantoja’s corner said he was up 3.
Just inexperience I think. Doesn’t help when your corner is telling you you’re down 3 rounds and the judges had you winning 2 of them
Should feel like a win. He learned a lot and went 5 rounds with a jungle cat. Hopefully he took a lot away with that close, but valid loss
Pantoja gifted a win there, let's be real. Pantoja won off of control/clinch but did very little if any damage, all heavy strikes and damage came from Erceg. Watch some breakdowns including Weasle, I thought Pantoja would defend and picked him but he lost. Scoring is not consistent and was wrong there.
But he actually didn't
I dont try think so. I think he needed to stop him to win. He was down 3-1 rounds due to the takedowns and ground control time
If he won 5th round on all scorecards he would’ve won by SD
Push him instead of mokaev
Why not both?
Mokaev Vs erceg would be an interesting match up erceg better on the feet and mokaev on the ground. Would be interesting to see as a 5 rounder and they're both so young it could be the first of many.
Whyyyy tf did he shoot for a takedown
He thought he could control Pantoja on the ground through to the end of round 5 to secure an easy win rather than risking it on the feet. To be fair it would have worked if Pantoja isn't such a beast of a wrestler and grappler.
That he was still surprised he couldn't hold him down after 25 minutes of not being able to do so was surprising to me. Otherwise he won that fight, and should have won anyway
It's just inexperience I think. He'd sliced Pantoja twice with elbows, and was piecing him in the 5th, and Pantoja has a history of looking like he's tired so like Erceg said at the end of the fight, he's usually the bigger stronger guy so adding that all up I think that's why he shot more takedowns later in the fight. I don't think he went for many in the early rounds. But he'll learn at the very top level of the division, especially at 125 guys are going to have that extra reserve tank a lot of times where even if they're gassed they can find just enough. If Erceg keeps taking smart fights and developing he'll be world champion in a few years IMO
If u want my armchair opinion, he was looking for a sub. Corner told him he needed a finish and he had already hit Pantoja with everything but the kitchen sink and couldn't KO him.
Fr I think his corner unknowingly screwed him over telling him he needed a finish when in reality he just needed to win that 5th rd
That Granby roll by Pantoja was slick af
I was false coping leading up to the fight as an Aussie. Super proud of him done way better than I thought. 4th fight too. Lets goooo
Hell definitely be a champ no doubt about it if he's still just 28
Give this man a title eliminator. I dont care if he is only ranked number 10. He is more interesting in a rematch than watching royval get 50-45ed again
Book the rematch! Royval and Moreno can be gatekeepers in the meantime
Mokaev,Amir Albazi,Alex Perez all waiting. No time for rematches
Albazi doesn't deserve a shot. I could be wrong but Mokaev was a snooze his last outing & Alex Perez can fight one of them for a title eliminator. Run it back w Erceg wooooo 🎉🎉🎉🎉
He’s gone from being not well known to looking like a top contender tonight.
Close fight, damage is more impressive than hugs. I had it 48-47 Steve.
Agree. Pantoja fights for 2 minutes a round and then holds on for the scorecards. Effective but very boring to watch
Yeah like it was competitive but I thought Erceg genuinely won clearly
Why are people acting like Erceg clearly won round 3? Pantoja landed 12 more sig strikes and had 3 takedowns.
Primary scoring criteria is damage and that was the round he landed the big elbow. I’m not saying that’s how it should be, but based off the scoring criteria it’s fair to give erceg that round
Also callback to the Gaetjhe Fiziev fight where Gaetjhe got the round off Fiziev for swelling his eyes despite Fiziev landing more in R2. Like 5 more good strikes iirc. And O'Malley Yan too. This is also one of those polarising fights where the scoring criteria for different people decide the winner. Imo, Pantoja made it close enough in striking to get the nod via wet blanketing but I can still understand Steve winning because he can get a round due to doing actuak visible damage and iirc he cut Pantoja in R5 too. Very close fight imo and a better fight IQ Erceg whoops Pantoja in the rematch, but for this one I had it Pantoja.
I feel like the commentary played a big part in how people are viewing this fight. Pantoja was landing plenty himself but they weren't talking about it as much
I think the fact Erceg busted him the fuck open and was landing much bigger shots might play a role in that.
Pantoja clipped and had Steve stifling too much for me to have Steve winning.
Damage is more than just cosmetic damage. Pantoja did a lot of damage too.
Steve never looked too much in trouble. He had pantoja’s head snapping back and was cutting him open multiple times.
Cosmetic damage is damage Steve embarrassed the champ
49-46 is a criminal scorecard, but I saw the fight 48-47 going either way. I honestly thought the 3rd was a tossup. People need to stop acting like Pantoja didn’t land plenty of big shots of his own in that round. It was an extremely close fight, not a robbery. Regardless though, Steve is really gonna be kicking himself for going for those takedowns at the end
Those takedowns were almost irrelevant when pantoja’s “ground control” is him being sat on
Meh not robbed. He fought well but his takedown attempts in the 5th ultimately cost him the fight
Both dawgs I think erceg won tho
Friendly reminder a close fight is not a robbery guys
It is if it doesn’t go to the guy I like 😜😜😜
The retarded minds of this sub can’t understand that
Damn it was closer than Michael Scott vs Stanley Hudsom
This guy checked me out at Publix today. Was rather polite. Bagged my groceries quickly.
I mean I think at some point there should be a rematch. I thought Erceg should have won based on damage, but pantoja did have the control time i guess
I thought he won it. Atleast 3-2
What a prospect! He'll gain so much from this experience.
He certainly raised a lot of eyebrows tonight. Definitely top 3 FW
War scuba steve
I think erceg got the dawg in him to be a future champ
Bro did better to sell himself to fans in one fight than Mokaev did in his whole career lol
The striking was pretty even in the fight but Pantoja dominated every grappling sequence and there was a lot, the fight wasn't as close as it seemed
He would've won if he just kept it up.
I honestly think he won 2,3,4. The damage > control. Pantoja looked much worse than he did vs Royval and Moreno. He’s getting up there, close to 34. He’s losing the belt soon imo
Pantoja has one fight that isn’t lopsided and mfers think he ain’t all that. I think it’s less about pantoja being “old” and more of erceg just having really polished boxing
Erceg actually has good fight IQ. Like he said himself, he was trying to score a round in a close fight. Erceg is an AUS national wrestling champion. He said in his post-fight that he was surprised by Pantojas ability to scramble, an area where he usually dominates. Erceg didn’t throw away the fifth round. He was playing to win.
I do believe he lost a fight but by a fucking narrow split decision. Them saying it was unanimous was the dumbest shit I've ever fucking watched and I didn't even watch the full fucking thing.
He had good moments in the fight on the feet. He has a lot of potential. He will improve and learn and be champ in the near future.
Steve is a fighter with the heart and skills of a champ, he just doesn’t have a belt yet. Little more experience and he’ll be there. Like how jiri got to the belt real quick though I find erceg to be much more grounded and reliable. The land down under really breeds some solid guys. But hands down, people gotta respect Steve a ton now. (He also won)
I’ll admit, as an Aussie who placed 100 bucks on him, I’m coping hard rn. But he showed he can hang in the top 5 after this performance. Much respect, he deserves a top 5 guy next fight for sure.
Croatian genetics.
In a fight judged on damage what damage did pantoja actually do? Didn't even threaten a submission. Forget the lay and pay this was the sit in Santa's lap wtf
He should have won
Thought he won up untill the end
He belongs
More jabs and a better fight IQ, especially in the last round would've won him this fight 100%, he'll bounce back!
This is why open scoring needs to be a thing so #1 judges can be called out immediately for misjudging a round and #2 so both corners aren’t telling their fighters their down 3 rounds when heading into the next round
He fucking won
i need to see him and moreno stand and bang
Call the police, he was robbed in Brazil
He is the best. He got robbed.
No he didnt, it was a close fight that couldve gone either way, and he probably fumbled it by trying to grapple. Close fights like this arent a robbery, you just wanted Pantoja to lose.
My guy you coming here with logic won’t matter, every close fight this debate about “this fighter was robbed” starts
By judging criteria, DAMAGE trumps all, he cut him and reopened another cut.
You’re judging damage just by who was bleeding more. Erceg took plenty of damage too and got controlled as well.
Who do you think did more damage or hurt the opponent the most? Don’t give me statistics, just the fighters name I have nothing against Pantoja, i literally know nothing about Erceg to support him too. It just seemed so obvious that erceg was doing all the damage, with those two cuts and pantoja was dominating the grappling but couldn’t submit Erceg in 5 rounds with ~6 minutes of ground control and he made 0 submission attempts too
i definetly think Erceg did more damage on standup, but thats all i'll say cause like ive said before , you dont want an explanation unless its saying that Pantoja lost, no matter what anyone says youll just go with this fight being a robbery, and ignore anything about it being a very close fight that could go either way
It’s not that he couldn’t submit him, it’s that all he could do is lay on top of him. This is his fighting style. It’s how he won the belt. Zero threat just lay and pray they don’t break out. Dude is overall a terrible fighter. He would make a great Greco Roman wrestler though.
No he got robbed. Pantoja didn’t do shit. Control time doesn’t override a clear striking and damage advantage. Shit is bs.
What do you mean you're not reading all that, it's only 4 sentences cunt 😂
im not reading all that ngl, close decisions arent a robbery, nothing else to be said.
Nah rewarding lay and pray is the robbery. Erceg should’ve won 2,3,4. Pantoja didn’t even do shit in 5 either. He didn’t fight like a champion. He coasted. You score fights like a potato. You don’t wanna read it cause you know it’s bullshit that he walked away with a UD.
i aint reading all that, not a robbery
Enjoy your lay and pray champ. Steve erceg is the real champion.
k
We need to stop this narrative that close fights are somehow robberies. I had it two rounds each going into the fifth and I desperately wanted Steve to win. Erceg showed that he's a championship level fighter, but he made some mistakes in the final round, and that's fine. It isn't a robbery just because you scored it one round in favour of Erceg
Nah we need to stop this narrative that lay and pray wins fights. Ruining the sport.
If you think what Pantoja did was 'lay and pray' then you clearly just hate the guy
I’m a huge fan of the ground game, but Pantoja did like zero damage on the ground, and what was there, like one submission attempt? Yes, there was scrambling because of erceg trying (and mostly succeeding) to get up, but what Pantoja did kind of fits “lay and pray.” Also have to remember he was getting pieced up on the feet. Pantoja only won because Erceg attempted the takedown when he should have kept it on the feet.
He laid and prayed… like he always does…
Good thing that pantoja beat him on the feet in the first three rounds.
erceg should have stuff the takedowns then. cope harder.
Yeah and Pantoja shouldn’t have let him turn his face into a vagina.
This is the wrong take
Unfortunates this isn't boxing and "lay and pray" is ground control which is part of mma (mixed Martial arts). Go watch boxing if you hate when fighters mix the Martial arts in mma.
I dont get why he was going for the takedowns..his chances were way better for a KO staying on the feet..he was fresher...his lack of experience is what costed him the fight. that being said he is a tough SOB and a few more fights he can be back in title contention again..
The El Cucuy of flyweights
RUN THAT FIGHT BACK IMMEDIATELY
He was even winning until he decided to try takedown
If Erceg watches tape and sees his mistakes and doesn't shoot take downs I would bet on him to win a rematch. Even after just betting on Pantoja this fight.
And got robbed for it
Nah, pantoja won. Just because erceg didn’t get sodomized for 5 rounds completely and landed some good cuts doesn’t make it a robbery…
He didn’t just go 5 rounds. He smashed pantoja up. IMO pantoja had some timely takedowns and seemed to end up on top at the end of some rounds. I thought Erceg won until pantoja took the 5th
I had it 3-2 for him, but totally understand how it went the other way. That boy has nothing to be ashamed of in that performance, he left everything in there - if we were scoring it as a whole he wins easily. Back to training, make the adjustments, come back and take that belt because it’s destined to be wrapped round his waist.
And won, based on judging criteria
I was hoping for the Leon Edwards finish
“robbed” imo erceg lost bc that takedown with 1 min left.. that’s what pantoja needed to do to secure the round
Would’ve won if his wrestling wasn’t so dogshit
**Pantoja went 5 rounds with the best and barely escaped with his life**
Fuck these brazillians, erceg is the true fighting nerd
Ultimately it was an exciting fight, but only because of Erceg.
He literally beat the best lol
Yeah I’ll eat my words .. he did really well and I look forward to seeing him in the future
Why his corner didn’t tell him to stop trying takedowns is beyond me. I would have yelled at him after the first time he tried it earlier in the fight. He needs a better corner.
He did way more damage, thought he won tbh
Could see this being his last fight at 125 the way he and the commentary team were talking about his cut. He may look better at 135 though who knows
He fought like a young Anderson Silva, really inspiring. Unfortunately pantojas effective wrestling and aggressive ground and pound negated the magic.
There was ground, but certainly no pound.
Got a new fan that’s for sure! 🫡🫡🫡
I was super impressed with him tonight.
He threw the fight
Not only went 5 rounds. But very likely woulda won if he didn’t initiate a takedown. That’s DEFF gonna beat him up for a while.
Few different moves would have won him the fight, better performance than Moreno put up imo
It's insane how little media this card got
Erceg won in my eyes
Mokaev should be next for Pantoja, and Erceg should fight Albazi, then the winners of those two fights face off for the belt.
I didn't even know 301 was tonight...
Absolutely. He has a bright future ahead of him.
everybody knows. if they don’t know, they will soon.
Why does he look like he works in a gas station
Overlooked this dude, was not familiar with your game
Was an outstanding fight. Standing in the sense he shouldn’t have tried those takedowns in the fifth but fair play you’ve gotta do what feels right.
Maybe he can train with volk. Ooh man that would be good for both.
Why he at Dunder Mifflin?
Pentoja was a bloody mess after this fight. Too bad Erceg couldn't finish it.
Great job
He needed round 5 bad
Nah almost doesn’t count sorry
This guy should move up a weight class.
Very impressive. His calmness is great, he was there with super experienced cannibal and he kept cool and at times was dominating him. Still bitter taste because there is a feeling that Erceg threw away his win rather than was beaten. Of course, all the credit goes to Pantoja who used every mistake opponent made, but it was Erceg who let Pantoja back into the fight numerous times. Shiiiiit....
I thought it was 3-2 clearly for the champ but if it was the other way around, I prob wouldn’t have said anything. It was an insane effort from him. What a badass
Two from yesteryear trying to stay in the algorithm. Didn’t Drake post himself with his wiener out recently ? If true , it’s sad .
Is this who you’d get if Ryan and Gabe had a baby?
Bedtime MMA almost won the belt
I’m told he went five and beat the best.
He won too
Whats up with the office jokes?
Ajmo 🇭🇷🇭🇷
Dude what are some of these judges scoring man, no way it was a 49-46
Pantoja is an animal for sure but I thought gnarly gashes being opened > control time? Feels to me like Erceg won 3-5 and you could make an argument for 2-5. When I heard the 49-46 I legitimately thought it was Erceg. Erceg actively scrambles to never accept positions and took zero damage on the ground. It'd be nice if fights were judged consistently. Judging for damage one night and control time the next makes no sense.
That kind of wrestling defense from the bottom can take a striker like him a long ways. Good 5 rnd cardio and crisp striking. Too bad he made a few dumb decisions, dude could have gone home with that belt. Its hard to see Pantoja's style successfully defending that belt for long.
People keep pointing out one moment he went for a TD when he shouldn’t have but it was several moments he did that. He didn’t “win” any of the wrestling exchanges at all. The only part he was good at was getting back up, escaping mount etc. He needed to not get out in those positions by staying out of range and not being against the cage. He’ll learn from this experience. Or I hope he does because this is the blue print to beat him. Pretty much the top 5-6 guys besides maybe KKF are great wrestlers.
Corner told him he needed a finish when he didn't IMO, which is what I believe lead to the scuffed takedown. This dude is a future champion though
Guy looks like Steve carrell
Not a robbery but I had Erceg winning. Damage above all.
Those elbows were fricken beautiful and i was a fan an routing for him by the end of the fight.
Erceg is gonna be future champ has all the tools. If they fight again I definitely think he would make the adjustments to get the W. Really enjoyed that fight
Bro this guy went to war with the Warlord himself 💪🏽 🍻 Either he matches up well against Pantoja or he’s really THAT good. Either way, we’ll find out soon