UFC LIVE: Aussie’s shot at world title upset UP NOW; ‘madman’ stuns with wild illegal act

Steve Erceg is looking to shock the world when he faces flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja in the UFC 301 main event on Sunday afternoon.

But the challenger will be hoping to avoid a similar fate to that of fellow Australian underdog Jamie Mullarkey, who was stopped in the first round of his fight against Mauricio Ruffy.

Ruffy, who had a 9-1 professional MMA record entering Sunday, was making his UFC debut after a third round stoppage of Raimond Magomedaliev in the Dana White Contenders Series.

With nine wins by knockout, Ruffy made an immediate statement in his first fight for the promotion as UFC analyst Din Thomas said in commentary that he reminded him of a “young Conor McGregor”.

UFC 301: PANTOJA VS ERCEG | SUN 5 MAY 12PM AEST | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the new exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.

Ruffy showed a bit of everything in the win, tripping Mullarkey up with a flying scissor sweep before startling the Australian with a pair of strong right hands near the end of the round.

At that point it was a matter of when and not if Ruffy would stop him, with a flying knee and series of punches forcing the referee to step in and call an end to the fight with 18 seconds left in the round.

“Oh my goodness... a flawless victory,” Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier said in commentary.

“I think the fight was after long before it was stopped but Mullarkey was doing enough to stay in the fight,” added Paul Felder.

“Ultimately it starts to wear on him way too much. [Ruff] stays composed though, knows Mullarkey is going to panic strike back and just isn’t there for any of the return shots. Unbelievable.”

It may have been his UFC debut but Ruffy then confidently called out lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in his post-fight interview with Cormier.

“I know you’re upset because I beat your friend,” Ruffy said.

“Enjoy your days at the top because a new king is coming.”

UFC 301 FULL CARD

Main Card

Alexandre Pantoja (c) vs. Steve Erceg — for the UFC flyweight title

Jose Aldo def. Jonathan Martinez via UD (30-27 x3) — Bantamweights

Anthony Smith def. Vitor Petrino via submission, Round 1 — Light Heavyweights

Michel Pereira def. Ihor Potieria via submission, Round 1 — Middleweights

Caio Borralho def. Paul Craig via KO, Round 2 — Middleweights

Prelims

Joanderson Brito def. Jack Shore via TKO, Round 2 — Featherweights

Iasmin Lucindo def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via UD (30-27 x3) — Strawweights

Myktybek Orolbai def. Elves Brener via UD (29-27 x3) — Lightweights

Drakkar Klose def. Joaquim Silva via UD (29-28 x3) — Lightweights

Early Prelims

Mauricio Ruffy def. Jamie Mullarkey via TKO, Round 1 — Lightweights

Dione Barbosa def. Ernesta Kareckaite via UD (29-28 x3) — Flyweights

Ismael Bonfim def. Vinc Pichel via UD (30-27 x3) — Lightweights

Alessandro Costa def. Kevin Borjas via TKO, Round 2 — Flyweights

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WAS THAT ILLEGAL? UFC MADMAN’S WILD FINISH

Elsewhere, there was some controversy as Michel Pereira made easy work of Ihor Potieria to claim a stunning submission in the opening round.

It was the 14th first-round finish of Pereira’s career, with the Brazilian dropping his rival with a one-two and then landing a spectacular but likely illegal knee to a grounded opponent’s head off a backflip.

Pereira then got the standing guillotine locked in and secured the tap, although he was perhaps lucky to not have the fight ruled a no-contest instead.

“I still think he’s got to learn his lesson from doing backflips and landing illegal knees,” Felder said.

“But a lot of it did land on the chest... and I think that’s what stopped him from potentially getting DQed.”

BLOODY BATTLE LEAVES SHORE’S LEG BATTERED

Elsewhere, Joanderson Brito absolutely destroyed Jack Shore’s leg on the way to a bloody win on the preliminary card.

Brito just consistently fired away with kicks throughout the fight, opening up a gnarly gash on Shore’s clearly compromised leg.

Shore bravely soldiered through but eventually was ruled unable to continue in the second round after an assessment by the ringside physician, who believed the 29-year-old may have broken his leg.

HOW SHOCK TITLE WIN COULD CATAPULT ERCEG TO $2M PAYDAY

He has dubbed himself the most boring fighter anywhere on the UFC roster, but Australia’s Steve Erceg is suddenly in line for a whopping $2 million windfall.

Unthinkable only a year ago, Erceg is suddenly on the cusp of becoming the nation’s most unlikely fight champion when he throws down against UFC flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301.

Incredibly, the Rio de Janeiro headliner will only be Erceg’s fourth walk to the Octagon, and comes as even Pantoja describes the surprise challenger as a “nobody” who is “lucky” to be here.

However Erceg’s agent Titus Day – who also manages Australia’s first UFC champ Robert Whittaker – insists his latest title challenger is set to “explode” in similar fashion to Bobby Knuckles if he claims gold.

Apart from dubbing himself the UFC’s most boring fighter this week, the 28-year-old Perth native has also been dubbed ‘Pizza Boy’ and likened to The Office’s Michael Scott.

The fighter’s team even went and printed hundreds of shirts with his face plastered on one of Scott’s signature images -- sat behind his desk, coffee in hand -- which all sold out in just two days.

Speaking with Fox Sports Australia from Rio, where he is in camp with the challenger, Day now insists Erceg is on the cusp of creating Australia’s own Rocky story.

After becoming world champions, both Whittaker and fellow Sydneysider Alexander Volkanovski quickly started earning $2 million annually.

As revealed by Fox Sports Australia last year, Volkanovski also put himself among the nation’s highest paid athletes – and well above the $5 million required to enter the top 15 – after signing on for his blockbuster rematch against UFC lightweight king Islam Makhachev.

Had ‘The Great’ went and won the UFC 294 bout in Abu Dhabi, which he took on 11 days notice, he also would’ve received a second bump in salary and joined the pointy end of a list topped by the likes of NBA superstar Ben Simmons, F1 ace Daniel Ricciardo and NFL heavyweight Jordan Mailata.

While that never happened, both Volk and Whittaker have had their lives changed forever by the title wins.

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“So it’s going to be absolutely massive for Steve in victory,” Day said this week.

“This fight, it really is Australia’s real life Rocky story.

“And Pantoja has even said that just like Apollo Creed, he called for this fight because he wanted to give some nobody a chance at a world title.

“At that’s Steve.

“Obviously he’s a massive underdog and to rise up and beat the world champion, it’s going to be huge.”

Day said his client was also embracing the countless memes that have exploded across social media in recent weeks in reference to his uncanny likeness to Hollywood actor Steve Carrell.

Asked about those comparisons, Erceg also told Fox Sports Australia it was just “one of many” before launching into a list of his doppelgangers which includes Derek Zoolander, NFL star Aaron Rodgers, tennis ace Novak Djokovic, even McLovin from the movie, Superbad.

“So there are a lot of them,” he cackled.

“The Novak one, I got that for a long time.

“It it’s fine. If I couldn’t have a laugh about it all, I’d be in trouble.

“Being in the business I am, people are always making memes, talking smack about me … but I’m very equipped to handle all of that.”

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Day agreed before revealing how the team had even made hundreds of shirts parodying similarities between the fighter and Michael Scott, which sold out within 48 hours.

“The Michael Scott thing, it’s been crazy,” Day conceded.

“Just the memes alone, it’s almost like a new one comes out every minute.

“Fans have also twisted his Astro Boy fight name, calling him Pizza Boy, likened him to Bunnings worker … and Steve absolutely loves it.

“He’s really embracing all the fun.

“That’s why we initially did a post on socials, putting his face on a Michael Scott image where the coffee cup read ‘World’s Best Flyweight’.

“And immediately the first five comments underneath all said ‘you guys have to make this a t-shirt’ with each of them getting thousands of likes.

“So we said, ‘OK, let’s do a t-shirt’.

“We made a few hundred with no idea what would happen – and they sold out in two days.”

While Erceg may have catapulted himself into a title fight with his stunning KO of American Matt Schnell, Pantoja this week told Fox Sports Australia it would be a far tougher task against him in Rio.

Asked his thoughts about the West Australian, who is noticeably taller than the champ, Pantoja replied: “When he fought Schnell, I was talking with a friend and said ‘damn, this guy is huge for the flyweight division … why is he fighting here?’

“But now this week, facing off with him, he doesn’t look so tall.

“(Laughs) Maybe I created a monster in my head.

“But I do that because I want to fight with the monster.

“That’s how I prepare myself.

“I create a giant so that when the cage door closes I feel freedom to fight with him.”

Elsewhere, Pantoja also said his rival was “lucky” to be in the fight, reminding how a crew of other contenders having already lost to him, been injured, recently missed weight or even had less inspiring wins.

Asked about his own famed chin, the Brazilian continued: “When I was young, around 15, I would go to all the gyms and fight everyone.

“It didn’t matter the size of the guy – if he was bigger than me, stronger – I trained with everyone.

“And that’s made me so strong.

“My life too, it’s never been easy.

“So I don’t choose to be a fighter.

“The life has chosen me.

“That’s the beautiful thing about my history.”

Already, Erceg has said that, in victory, he will then turn around and defend his title at UFC 305, which is set to take place in his hometown of Perth on August 18

“And that will be colossal,” Day said.

“We Aussies love a humble underdog.

“A guy who has worked his way up, is having a crack and is real.

“Aussie sports fans also love to jump on board with a fighter once he’s become successful and that’s what will happen with Steve.

“A win this Sunday will see his socials blow up, sponsors will be all over him, his UFC contract hits championship money … it will be huge.”

UFC 301: PANTOJA VS ERCEG | SUN 5 MAY 12PM AEST | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the new exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.