Alexandre Pantoja to defend flyweight title against Steve Erceg at UFC 301 - ‘He has nothing to lose’

Alexandre Pantoja will face Steve Erceg in the UFC 301 main event as he defends his flyweight title in Rio de Janeiro on May 4.

Pantoja has held the title since dethroning Brandon Moreno with a split-decision win, before swatting aside Brandon Royval via a unanimous decision in December.

It represents an exciting homecoming for Pantoja, who will be taking part in his first UFC fight in Brazil.

For Erceg, it will be a title shot in what is only a fourth UFC fight for the 28-year-old after already making a big impression in the sport.

After a unanimous-decision win over David Dvorak, he powered his way past Alessandro Costa and Matt Schnell, with the latter coming via knockout on March 2.

Speaking on the UFC Fight Pass show Bancada, Pantoja said: “He’s a tough opponent.

“He’s tougher than Royval and Moreno for me, because he comes from down the rankings and he has nothing to lose. He’s ranked No. 10 and is fresh in the division.

“The thing in my favour is that I’m more experienced in fighting, and that will be used by me in the Octagon. I can’t make mistakes or underestimate him because he hits hard.”

Among the other fights on a stacked card include Michel Pereira's middleweight bout against Makhmud Muradov, while Karolina Kowalkiewicz takes on Iasmin Lucindo in the strawweight division.

The full UFC 301 main card is as follows:

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