UFC 301: Steve Erceg's improbable flyweight title shot

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Erceg's path to facing Alexandre Pantoja for the 125-pound belt is unprecedented, but the preparation for this moment has been a long time coming.

for the men's flyweight championship at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, the overwhelming number of comments on social media were similar to the aforementioned one. One Instagram commenter asked why actor Steve Carell is fighting for a UFC championship. Several others simply asked:"Why?"for the middleweight title while being ranked No. 13 in the UFC's rankings.

Throughout the conversation, Wilkes had used"crazy" no less than ten times to describe his charge's journey to a UFC flyweight title opportunity. It's"crazy" that Erceg came to Wilkes MMA in 2008 -- which was then just a martial arts gym -- and was just another 13-year-old kid learning techniques. Nothing athletic about Erceg immediately stood out to Wilkes, aside from his tenacity and dedication to get better.

"It was never, 'Dad, I want to become a fighter,'" Matthew said of his son's interest. The father never saw his son as a spectacular athlete, but knew how hard Steve worked to get better."I thought to myself, 'Well, let's find out.'"Matthew saw how quickly Steve made exponential leaps in grappling and wrestling. The only real question was his striking. He held the pads for his son and was surprised at his technique and power.

"Definitely not," Matthew said."She'll probably talk about retirement and how he's done everything he can do so we can move on."Erceg knows what he's in for Saturday as the deafening chants of"Uh Vai Morrer" from a rowdy crowd of over 12,000 Brazilian fans will rattle off the walls of the Farmasi Arena.

 

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