The night UFC bosses drank beer, said ‘we’re not interested in Steve Erceg’... and then signed him

Ring girl fumes after getting kicked! | 00:16Two weeks before the night that changed everything, Steve Erceg was staring down at a bill which, written in Japanese yen, had a surprising number of zeros.Yet know said figure, it was higher than anything Australia ’s reigning flyweight king was expecting to pay out given his tear through the local scene of seven straight wins.

UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and No.10 ranked contender Steve Erceg at the iconic Sugar Loaf ahead of their main event bout this Sunday, May 5 at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Understanding that when it comes to pinpointing the exact moment Erceg’s life changed, it undeniably belongs to the night he beat Japan’s Soichiro Hirai at Eternal MMA 73.

Yet after three times signing fighters for the showdown, the agent would receive three phone calls saying each one had withdrawn. “He said ‘pay the guy whatever he needs out of my purse’. Said to use it for flights, tickets, whatever.UFC flyweight No. 10 ranked contender Steve Erceg at the iconic Sugar Loaf ahead of their main event bout this Sunday, May 5 at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Incredibly, this was with Erceg still having no guarantees that the Asian rival would show, or make weight.Sure, UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard had been sent a VIP invitation.

“So they told us ‘OK, we can put him back onto the next Contender Series’ but that was going to be a whole year away.That night, sat in a little roped off VIP section, Maynard and UFC executive vice president Hunter Campbell watched as Erceg took less than a round to finish his Japanese rival via rear naked choke.“And what I remember most,” Erceg says of the fight, “is taking my time.

Alexandre Pantoja North America Executive Vice President Exclusive Home Titus Day Title Shot Japanese Yen Brazil Eastern Asia Japanese Fighter Kayo Sports Japan Perth Surprising Number Canada Northern America Flyweight Champion Alessandro Costa (Haute-Corse) Championship Showdown Western Australia Phone Calls Max Holloway Title Fight Broomstick Sweep Marc Goddard Steve Carrell Oceania Nightmare Flight Proud Fighting History America Girl Fumes Event Bout Hotel Room Australia And New Zealand Car Park Rio De Janeiro Mick Maynard Thing Mightn Homesoil Blockbuster Nick Walshaw Ring Girl Asia David Dvorak Fighter Shrugs Moments Rankedufc Dana White Hunter Campbell Australia Getting Desperate Robert Whittaker Flyweight Title Reigning Flyweight King

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