UFC NO 8 ranked flyweight Steve Erceg looking for title shot with a win against ex champ Brandon Moreno
Steve Erceg (12-3, fighting out of Perth, Western Australia) hopes to stop Moreno and climb the 125-pound rankings
No. 8 UFC flyweight
Six wins via submission, one by knockout
Five first round finishes
Steve Erceg (12-3, fighting out of Perth, Western Australia) hopes to stop Moreno and climb the 125-pound rankings
No. 8 UFC flyweight
Six wins via submission, one by knockout
Five first round finishes
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Steve over here.
00:22When you got the call to fight Brandon Moreno in his home country of Mexico, Altitude, a
00:26lot of people might see that as an uphill battle to climb, no pun intended.
00:31When you got the call, what went through your mind?
00:53Honestly I was uncharacteristically excited.
00:55The first thing that hits me is the nerves, I'm about to fight this badass UFC fighter,
01:01but I don't know what it is, maybe because it's a guy I've looked at for so long, it's
01:05like a dream fight fighting in Mexico.
01:07I was pumped for the opportunity and I'm going to take it with both hands.
01:11You're coming off two losses in the last one, you got stopped.
01:34Some fighters, if they experience that, they might want to step down in competition, but
01:39instead it almost feels like you even took a higher step or just stayed at the same level.
01:43One, how surprised are you that the UFC kept you in a main event and kept you fighting
01:47at an entitled contender status?
01:49And again, any second thoughts on like, hey, maybe I should take it easy, maybe I should
01:53fight somebody else?
02:26I was surprised that they gave me another main event spot, and somebody so highly ranked,
02:33but all I want to do is fight the toughest dudes on the planet, and whether I have setbacks
02:38or whatever, that doesn't bother me.
02:41Obviously losing sucks, but I want to prove that I'm a tough guy, and I never would think
02:48about turning down a fight, especially of this magnitude.
03:15And I mean this as a compliment, but have you thought about how bizarre your UFC run
03:20has been?
03:21Because it's only five fights, but you've been in two main events, counting this one,
03:26one co-main event, four pay-per-views, I mean, you fought for the title already.
03:30A lot of people go years without even coming close to doing something like that.
03:34Have you gotten a chance to process all that, and did you expect your UFC run to be sort
03:39of this, I don't even know what to call it, like this fast, this intense maybe?
03:45I definitely wouldn't expect my UFC run to go like this.
04:14Like, when you think about it, you're like, oh, five, six, seven fights, and then you
04:18work your way to the title, you get a shot, and yeah, I got thrown into the deep end,
04:22which I mean, honestly, like I couldn't imagine a better outcome.
04:27I mean, I think life's about experiences, and I mean, I had some pretty amazing experiences
04:32so far, so yeah, I'm maybe the luckiest guy in the world at the moment.
04:44And have you thought what a win could do for your career, because, yeah, like a two-fight
05:10losing streak, but defeating Brandon Moreno in a main event, I mean, that's as big as
05:15you can get in terms of like, outside of fighting for a title at flyweight, probably one of
05:19the biggest wins you can get at 125.
05:22So where do you think this will put you, and have you thought about what it could bring
05:25to your career?
05:26Yeah, this will definitely be my biggest win, and as far as where it puts me, I mean, I
05:56mean, it puts me right back in the mix.
05:57I think likely Kai Kai France probably fight for the title, and then I think Roy Vial and
06:06Manel Karp have done enough to be number one contenders, so they'll probably fight each
06:08other, and then I'll fight somebody highly ranked first, and then loser or winner of
06:14one of those fights.
06:15But as far as what it does to me, like just in life in general, I mean, when I look back
06:20in 40 years, and I look at all the legends that I've, yeah, had the privilege of sharing
06:24the cage with, I mean, that's, that's the coolest part.
06:27I mean, my kids will be like, oh, you fought Brandon Moreno, and I'm like, yeah, I did
06:31pretty well too, and yeah, it'll be cool.
07:24Brandon Moreno is, has two defeats and one draw fighting in Mexico in the UFC.
07:31Some people, you know, get superstitious, say maybe there's a curse, this and that.
07:36One, what have you made of, what do you make of that, and two, do you have a prediction
07:39for the fight?
07:40Yeah, I don't make much of, yeah, the curse or whatever, I think he's fighting good guys,
07:59and it's been unfortunate he can't win them all, and a prediction, I don't, I think most
08:06likely we go five rounds.
08:07I think he's really tough, and he's not going to give up, and probably a five-round war,
08:11I think.
08:37You know, before your last fight, you came in, and we don't want to forget that, it was
08:5911 straight wins before the two losses.
09:02How do you just get back into the win track and get the W's again?
09:05What do you focus on to get a win again?
09:08Yeah, I focus on my work in the gym.
09:12I take a lot of confidence out of the improvements I make and how I go with training partners
09:17and stuff like that, and honestly, I felt fantastic in camp, so it just brings a lot
09:21of confidence coming into this next one.
09:23Okay, the altitude of the city, is that what you expected, is that what they told you about
09:54What are your general feelings about finding an altitude, and also, does that make it more
09:58complicated, the fact that 20,000 people are going to be breathing that same air tonight?
10:02Yeah, the altitude, honestly, got me when I went up the stairs and down the stairs.
10:09That was the worst part, but I've been here for long enough now that I feel very fit and
10:14fully acclimated, and yeah, I'm looking forward to sharing the air with 20,000 Mexicans.
10:20You know, the way you fight, the way, the precision in striking, the hard you hit,
10:51to me, it looks like it's going to be one of those fights that we're going to be going for
10:56the standing matchup and exchanging a lot.
10:58Do you think that's how the matchup is going to be decided, or maybe,
11:01you know, go to ground? How do you feel about that stuff?
11:06Yeah, I can see, Moran is really good at changing things up, so if things aren't going well on the
11:11feet for him, he'll look to grapple, and he's a great grappler as well, so I expect a fast-paced
11:18MMA affair. That's how I see it going.
11:49What do you expect about this fight, especially with the Mexican crowd, because
11:53Brandon Moreno is the Mexican idol, no? What's your expectation about this fight,
11:58but especially with the Mexican crowd?
12:01Yeah, I mean, I expect the crowd to be very loud. I assume they'll be chanting and
12:19booing when I walk out, and all that sort of stuff, and honestly, every time I've fought in
12:24front of a crowd that's been that loud and that, like, booed and all that sort of stuff, for some
12:28reason, I find it very exciting. It's just, I relish the opportunity to be in hostile territory
12:33for whatever reason.
12:58Steve, over here. You said that you might enjoy that hostility, but you just fought
13:03back home in Perth before this, so would you say it's a different type of pressure? Would you enjoy
13:08more being back home, or just being here, or in Brazil, like you fought?
13:12Yeah, honestly, the pressure of, yeah, being at home or being somewhere else, that's not the part
13:30that, like, affects me at all. It's like, I'm fighting somebody really good. That's very
13:35nerve-wracking, and, but once the cage closes, like, everything else, like, disappears. It's
13:40only me and Brandon, and the nerves go away, and it's just, I want to win real bad, so, I mean,
13:46stop me if you can.
14:11A lot was made about your boxing as well, and how good you are in striking. Obviously,
14:15Brandon is very good as well. You're in a country that is famous for his boxing.
14:19Are you excited to maybe show your skills in there?
14:35Yeah, 100%. I mean, I always want to be in exciting fights, and, I mean, yeah, being in
14:40Mexico, like, yeah, such a rich history in boxing. It'd be awesome to have, yeah, a back-and-forth
14:47affair and give the Mexican crowd, I don't know, just something they can look at and think about
14:56for a long, long time.
15:10Steve, hi. You talk about the hostility at the ground, at the people, Mexican people,
15:15but do you try the Mexican food? The hostility in Mexican food?
15:20So far, I've had to be very disciplined what I've eaten and that sort of thing.
15:27So I've had no, yeah, no Mexican food, but as soon as the fight is over, I'll be asking
15:34for some tacos and some quesadillas, and I'll be gorging myself.
15:38I'm a
15:50Until now I've been very disciplined with what I eat. Obviously I haven't eaten yet, but I can tell you that as soon as the fight is over I'm going for tacos and quesadillas and I'm going for everything.
16:03For all the Mexican crowd that's going to be there, for all the fight fans that are going to be there, what can they expect from you? You're facing Brandon Moreno at home, what can they expect from you on Saturday?
16:33You can expect me to be looking for the finish the whole time. I'm not a guy that wants to outpoint somebody for 5 rounds. I'm looking to make it a fight. I know he's going to do the same. I don't know if you guys have this saying, but in Australia we call it a slobber knocker.
17:03Brandon Moreno is coming for the same thing. I don't know if you guys have this saying, but in Australia we call it a slobber knocker.
17:14I was going to say, so you didn't come here to fuck spiders then?
17:23Definitely not. No spiders will be fucked in the process of a fight.
17:30I'm here to translate.