Alexandre Pantoja is back to his roots.
For the first time in over a decade, the UFC Flyweight Champion will fight in his native country of Brazil. Pantoja headlines UFC 301 from Rio de Janeiro this Saturday with his next title defense set against an unlikely challenger in Steve Erceg.
This marks Pantoja's 15th appearance in the Octagon and his second title defense overall. For the oncoming Erceg, the flyweight prospect made his UFC debut less than a year ago and is 3-0 under the banner.
Following his brutal KO win over Matt Schnell in March, "Astroboy" got the boost for a title fight on Pantoja's recommendation. Pantoja's fellow flyweights were up in arms about Erceg skipping the line, but the champion maintained that Erceg deserved the opportunity despite his #10 ranking.
"I watch that 3 fights and [he] make a good fight," Pantoja told CBS Sports' Shakiel Mahjouri. "He fight with Alessandro Costa— really good... and he fights with [David] Dvorak, very good guy, very dangerous fighter. Then, he come to knock out Matt Schnell, looked very easy. He looked very comfortable in the Octagon. That's why I'm looking at this guy and say, this is the real dude. He deserve for the fight."
The matchup between Pantoja and Erceg is something you'd see in a "Rocky" movie with a young, hungry contender fighting an uphill battle with the dominant champion. Pantoja might fit the bill of the character Apollo Creed, but he refuses to repeat the same mistake of underestimating his opponent.
"In my division, you can take the #10, and he can make a tough fight with the champion," Pantoja said of Erceg. "This guy, he can take the belt that night. But I'm prepared for this to not happen. I'm prepared maybe more and then more because I have the belt right now.
"I don't want to be a lazy champ. This is gonna be my 3rd title fight in last one year. This is something huge. I train a lot. I'm tired. After that fight, I go on some vacation, that's100%. I'm super happy, super excited with that guy. He's huge, he's young, he's strong. He has wrestling, he has boxing, that's perfect for me."
Ahead of his first crack at the title, Erceg believes he has the keys to dethrone a champion like Pantoja. In a recent interview with UFC Espanol, Erceg explained where he can find openings in which other contenders failed to do so.
"People almost let [Pantoja] hold the center and cover up while he’s resting," Erceg continued. "Many people seem to really want to wrestle him back because they’re worried about his jiu-jitsu. The people that have been the most successful, I think, are the people who have used their whole game, not just trying to just stay away and strike. I’m looking to do the same thing. I’m going to mix up MMA and not let him dictate where the fight goes and what the pace of the fight looks like.”
As mentioned, this will be Pantoja's first UFC fight on home soil. The last time "The Cannibal" fought in Brazil was on the regional scene in 2013. More than ten years later, everything's come around for Pantoja in his first championship reign.
But, heavy is the head that wears the crown and Pantoja is feeling the pressure of fighting in his backyard.
"Fight in Brazil, a lot of good points to make me feel fear and scared about what what's gonna happen before. I don't want to lose," Pantoja said. "I don't want to lose in front of my people. I don't lose in Brazil. I don't work so hard for that moment and lose. But, I know that this can happen. I can train 100%, [spill] all my blood for that moment that happened, but that's gonna be God's decision. I deserve to win that fight."
Deserving or not, we'll see who wins in the main event of UFC 301 between champ Alexandre Pantoja and rising contender Steve Erceg.
More must-reads: