STEVE ERCEG IMMEDIATE REACTION TO UFC 301 FIGHT WITH ALEXANDRE PANTOJA 

This isn’t a bad loss in my eyes. This puts him in the top of the rankings and I think he should fight at ufc 305 in Australia against someone in the top 5. This man is the future champ

This is the respect reporters should be showing respectable fighters. Shame I missed the fight but I was already a fan. Great, humble fighter.

Bro this has to be the saddest interview I’ve ever seen

Chin up bro! That performance was inspiring no matter the outcome. You’re a champion in my books

Damn Erceg is the most innocent, sweetest looking fighter I've ever seen. He looks the complete opposite of a fighter but is a mean savage in the octagon. He proved he is a top guy in this division. To go 5 rounds against the champ and even win the fight in some peoples eyes is a very good look. Pantoja won but Erceg made it close.

Absolute champion, did himself and Australia proud, will be cheering for him to come back stronger and take that belt

So genuine of a future champion no bs. He’s gonna be a great champ in the future

Great interview buy that fella. More mma reporters need to be more like him. Huge respect to both guys here

Great interviewer, very respectful and kind

Dudes holding back some real tears. Poor dude, rematch is needed.

Such a nice dude. He will get another shot. I’d love to see him fight Brandon Moreno

U can see interviewer is seriously feeling his vibe of holding in the tears but good on him for keeping it positive and bringing this dude up! 🙏🙌

Erceg is all class.

Great vibes in the interview. All fighters deserve so much respect for putting themselves on the line like this. Steve more than most because he has elevated his skills to such a high level.

Mad respect to Erceg from Aus!!

Robbery, Pantoja got dismantled on the feet, was cut open badly twice. Damaged based scoring and somehow looses with the deciding factor being control time….

Def got a new fan this way dude is so humble. That's the ones who do well

REMATCH AT 305 co-main event for Volk vs Topuria!!!

WOW! CONGRATS ERCEG! VERY IMPRESSIVE!

Great interview, questions flowed, it wasnt the same question on repeat. I love the respect towards the fighters, that seems to be fading from MMA journalism.

Bro been fighting in the ufc for a year and did great for a first belt fight, the fight could’ve went either way but ecerg did more damage but I think round 5 cost him the match with the grappling exchange

Not a single strike was landed when pantoja had erceg grounded

Proud Australian AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE 🇦🇺 YOU MADE US PROUD N THAT BELTS YOURS VERY VERY SOON BRO, STAY HUMBLE, PROUD AND ONLY BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS COMING YOUR WAY

One of the best heartwarming interviews iv seen

Love this dude and great interview

Love the fact that he didn't acknowledge his "Mistake" of taking it to the ground, which I thought it was, but rather the fact that he would do it again but do it better. Well said.

Robbed 2 3 4 for erceg brother, scoring is meant to be damage

Shame the majority of MMA skipped this card. Steve earned me as a fan for sure and I think a lot of others would’ve felt the same.

What a Brilliant Fight!! Dude is a future Champ UFC Needs. Honest, Intelligent, Humble, Talented and Strong

This is why you NEVER fight in Brazil. This happens all the time there

Insane for less than a year in the UFC 😮

Great respect in this interview. Im a fan now.

Really shows how deeply he wanted this. He's crushed inside and has to figure out how to move forward from this. All the best Steve, rooting for you and your road back to the championship.

Steve Erceg WILL BE the Champion. Probably one fight vs rank 1-5, and a rematch outside of Brazil. New Champion for a while... this loss (wasn't a loss) might help him drastically. He knows he can hang with the best of the best now.

Great interviewer

What a legend, future champ 100%

Number 10 ranked, been in the ufc barely a year, fought the champ on short notice and barely lost by decision. Shouldn't be disappointed at all, he's future champ material

We need more interviewers like this. I really appreciated the questions but also the empathy of having a loss when it was so close. Hats off to the interviewer and Steve Erceg.

Dude is an absolute stud! And Kudos to Full Send MMA for an exemplary interview

Turned me into a fan in, just a few days! This dude will be back. Well done. Good damage, or n Brazil.

He will hold the belt very, very soon. Although, wrestling/grappling is the hardest part to play catch-up with. Cheers man, great battle out there!

We love you Steve! You are a top bloke. Australia is proud.

Steve Erceg is for real! He’s just as good as pantoja

Steve may have come up short tonight on the judges cards, but he won with the fans. He's gonna hold the belt real soon. Much love from back home in Australia.

I now love Erceg. His first fight in the UFC I knew that he was special and it was obvious that he would be fighting for a title soon. The Erceg era is now here!

Love seeing him being so humble after losing. A lot if fighters stilp yapping after losing. Great fight.

This interview plus his exceptional performance made me am Erceg fan today

Dude that was such an entertaining fight! Amazing talent.

Good interview

My new favorite fighter

I think Erceg moves up in the rankings after the loss, which is rare.

One of the most genuine respectable interviews

Steve shouldn’t be so hard on himself. He seems absolutely devastated, but he may not realize yet that his international fan base just exploded. His earning potential grew exponentially. He’s still a top contender (and in my eyes the better fighter). Sure the belt would’ve been nice, but it wasn’t meant to be. Not yet, but no doubt it will be soon. Good scrap Steve, keep your head up.

The man never stopped fighting....so impressed...big things, awesome style.

He is the Champ now, he destroyed Pantoja Id rather lose scrambles all day then get whacked by 20 hard hard hard elbows to Pantoja; he is probably concussed today.

Keep the head up man Your 1 win away from another shot ✊

He is a future champion for sure. Keep yo head up man. You delivered today. Just a little bit of experience needed

0:30 i wrote last night in the comments that pantoja was winning 3-1. Steve admits it here and i respect the sht out of him now. Good fighter gotta respect him...

He certainly did more damage and he did held up with the grappling most of the time in the match and didnt face much threat on the ground. Hope he gets a title fight again soon to prove himself.

Bro keep your head your a machine and we’re all proud as punch of u bro! You’ll get him next time brother anyhow your still killing it 4 fights and your entrenched who else has done that other than Perriera

Its okay... Dont cry... You should fight Tagir next...

he won

What’s cool though is he made hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of new fans in just a short time. The synergy is with him now, he’ll be back and even better.

Erceg is so good

Hell of an effort.

Ariel should take notes from this guy on how not to be a scumbag to fighters.

I can't imagine any non-Brazilian fighter ever wanting to compete in Brazil. (Besides Anthony Smith.) Highlights: an instant 1-point penalty for minor fence grab from Orolbai; doctor stoppage on a clearly ready Jack Shore; no DQ for Pereira kneeing a grounded opponent, even after review; and a 49-46 card for Pantoja. The dishespetch is so blatant

I said before the fight his stand up was to clean on all the youtube videos i could. Dudes a future champ literally mans been in the ufc less than 1 year.

I really thought Steve was ahead 3-1 going onto the 5th! I had it as 49-46 for Erceg. Cant wait to see him back!

Steve didn’t blow it. Dude showed he’s the freaking truth. He’ll get another title shot for sure. Putting that many strikes on Pantoja is impressive

What a dude, so gracious in defeat. Just owns up to it and he’s right, he lost this fight in the scrambles. He’ll be a champ in the future for sure 👍

Steve Erceg won a lot of fans tonight.

Real man in his loss. Saw it how it went. No excuses. He will be back!

He won but shame on judges

What a legend. Good on ya Stevey!

All my homies love Steve Erceg.

this guy is a beast

ON YA Erceg! you got it man, couple more fights and you got that belt brother! Rise up for the next one

We are so proud of you Steve!!! You are so talented and put in a great performance. Congratulations on a great showing and you got robber btw

I hope he feels better today. He only has big fights ahead of him. 4 fights in the ufc and to be at the top of a division is crazy. I’d be surprised if this is the last title fight for astroboy.

Bro, what a bad decision to try to take him down on the 5th, he could have out box him or even KO him.

Him vs Moreno would be cracking fight

Why isnt there post fight corrections from the commission. A winner based on the scoring criteria is an objective fact and not in the moment opinions of people that don't even explain themselves.

He’s upset because he wants it, we are witnessing passion on full display Great fight

Erceg is the man. He’ll wear that belt in the future

He Won 💯 Fair And Square,It sucks to see how destroyed he is inside from JUDGED THAT DON'T CARE OR ARE CORRUPT AND THE REFFS TOO WOW,THIS HAPPENS TOO OFTEN IN MANY SPORTS, SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE,WE NEED JUDGES AND REFS TO WATCH THE JUDGES AND REFS

Seeing Steve get emotional when he mentioned everyone back in Australia shows where he gets his power from Love ya Steve. Can wait for the next title fight. This one in Australia

as an Aussie i am shocked how good he was new fan here

His stocks went up imo, great performance despite the loss. Will be a problem for a lot of people in the division

Steve has an amazing fight in him.. we gotta see part 2...and this Time Pantoja flys to Australia... that would be epic in about a year.. 😊

Notice how every comment says what a performance from steve and giving him credit for his performance or people saying its a robbery lol anyone talking about pantoja says he won not how great he did or anything and there are barely any of them crazy how the guy who had the more impressive performance loses lol erceg lost but could go back in the gym tomorrow pantoja has to take a trip to the doctor to get stitched up in 2 different places and take some time off but he wins lmao

I hope he doesn't let this loss get to his head, he did GREAT, hope to see him as a champ at the end of the year

interviewer's etiquette is on point. could be a role model for other interviewers for post fights

Every aussie that is in the ufc is doing our land down under proud sweethearts everyone of them.

What a performance. Done Australia proud. We love the Egg. Shoutout Full Send for getting on board our man all week!! 🫡🇦🇺

Worst decision of all time, ercegs coaches failed him along with the judges he won 4-1

He may have lost but that performance and that fight as a maint event of a PPV gave him a name and following. He will be viewed as a top 5 quality opponent now. So it’s not all lost if a loss results in a higher ranking.

Gonna be a champ. Man put on a better fight than Moreno and Royal.

put him on ufc 305 in Aus, he deserves to be at the top

They robbed that dude