Pantoja vs Erceg

Who won Pantoja vs Erceg?

Alexandre Pantoja beat Steve Erceg by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of UFC 301, on Saturday 4th May 2024 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

The scorecards were announced as 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 in favor of the winner Alexandre Pantoja.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Flyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 125 pounds (8.9 stone or 56.7 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Flyweight championship.

Pantoja vs Erceg stats

Alexandre Pantoja stepped into the octagon with a record of 27 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 8 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 10 by submission.

Steve Erceg made his way to the cage with a record of 12 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 2 of those wins coming by knock out and 6 by submission.

This was Alexandre Pantoja's 16th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2017. Steve Erceg marked his 5th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2023.

Alexandre Pantoja's UFC record stood at 13-3-0, while Steve Erceg's came in at 3-2-0.

The stats suggested Pantoja had an advantage in power over Erceg, with a 30% knock out percentage over Erceg's 17%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Erceg had an advantage over Pantoja, with a 50% submission rate over Pantoja's 37%.

Alexandre Pantoja was the older man by 5 years, at 34 years old.

Erceg had a height advantage of 4 inches over Pantoja. That also extended to a 1-inch reach advantage.

Pantoja was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 19 more fights, and made his debut in 2007, 8 years and 6 months earlier than Erceg, whose first professional fight was in 2016. He had fought 49 more professional rounds, 82 to Erceg's 33.

Pantoja vs Erceg form

Alexandre Pantoja had beaten 5 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Brandon Royval at UFC 296 on 16th December 2023 by unanimous decision in their UFC Flyweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 on 8th July 2023 by split decision in their UFC Flyweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Alex Perez at UFC 277 on 30th July 2022 by submission in the 1st round at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Before that, he was victorious against Brandon Royval at UFC Vegas 34 on 21st August 2021 by submission in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Enterprise.

He had won against Manel Kape at UFC Vegas 18 on 6th February 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

Pantoja's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 1 month and 6 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 16 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.2 rounds on average.

Erceg's last 3 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 9 months and 2 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 8 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.7 rounds on average.

What time did Pantoja vs Erceg start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 4:05 AM UTC , which was 12:05 AM EST or 9:05 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 5:05 AM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Pantoja vs Erceg?

Alexandre Pantoja was a 1/2 (-200) favourite going into the contest, while Steve Erceg made his way into the ring at 17/10 (+170) with oddsmakers.