RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – ABRIL 29: Opponents Alexandre Pantoja from Brazil and Steve Erceg from … [+]
The UFC returns to Brazil on Saturday with Alexandre Pantoja defending his UFC men’s flyweight title against Steve Erceg within the principal event.
In the co-main event, considered one of Brazil’s biggest former champions, UFC legend and Hall-of-Famer Jose Aldo, meets Jonathan Martinez.
As usual, each time the UFC travels to Brazil for a fight card, several other Brazilians may also be in motion. Here’s a have a look at all the map and display information.
Main Card – 10:00 PM ET – ESPN+ PPV
- (c) Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg – UFC Men’s Flyweight Championship
- Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Martinez – Men’s Bantamweight
- Anthony Smith vs. Vitor Petrino – Light Heavyweight
- Ihor Pottery vs. Ihor Pottery Michel Pereira – Middleweight
- Paul Craig vs. Caio Borralho – Middleweight
UNDERCARD – 8:00 p.m. ET – ESPN2 and ESPN+
- Joanderson Brito vs. Jack Shore – Featherweight
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Iasmin Lucindo – Strawweight
- Elfen Brener vs. Myktybek Orolbai – Lightweight
- Jean Silva vs. William Gomis – Featherweight
Early Prelims – 6:00 p.m. ET – UFC Fight Pass
- Joaquim Silva vs. Drakkar Klose – Lightweight
- Jamie Mullarkey vs. Mauricio Luffy – Lightweight
- Dione Barbosa vs. Ernesta Kareckaite – Women’s Flyweight
- Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc Pichel – Lightweight
- Alessandro Costa vs. Kevin Borjas – Men’s Flyweight
Pantoja wants to wash up the division
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – APRIL 29: Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil poses for a photograph before UFC 301 … [+]
The champion goes into his title defense on Saturday with a winning streak of 5 fights. He hasn’t lost a fight in almost 4 years. During his run within the UFC, Pantoja faced and largely defeated a who’s who of flyweight contenders.
Since her time on Season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2016, Pantoja has defeated Brandon Moreno 3 times. He has defeated Kai Kara France, Wilson Reis, Manel Kape, Brandon Royval (twice), Alex Perez and Matt Schnell.
The only outstanding flyweights of Pantoja’s time who were capable of defeat him were Deiveson Figueiredo and Askar Askarov. Figueiredo and Askarov scored unanimous decision wins against Pantoja in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
While his time crossed paths with Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo, Pantoja never fought them.
Should Pantoja emerge victorious against Erceg on Saturday, it might be his second successful title defense. His first was a hard-fought victory over Moreno at UFC 296 in December 2023. With more wins, Pantoja forces himself into the conversation as considered one of the best flyweights in history.
Steve Erceg’s journey
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – MAY 1: Steve Erceg poses for a portrait during a UFC photo session in May … [+]
Erceg has enjoyed considered one of the fastest rises to the championship in UFC history. Despite being ranked No. 10 at 125 kilos and having only three fights within the promotion, Erceg is one win away from becoming UFC champion.
The 28-year-old from Australia beat David Dvořák and Alessandro Costa by unanimous decision and picked up a knockout win over Schnell en path to challenger Pantoja.
If Erceg pulls off the upset, it would be considered one of the most important in MMA this 12 months. Pantoja is currently the favourite to win at minus-190.
Erceg doesn’t seem like a stereotypical fighter – mild cauliflower ear aside – but he’s desperate to further establish himself as an elite competitor at 125 kilos.
Jose Aldo’s last stand?
Jose Aldo (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
The former UFC featherweight champion has come out of retirement to tackle this fight. He recently confirmed that the fight will happen on Saturday his last in his current contract with the funding. He was is about to fight fellow UFC legend Dominick Cruz on this card, but that fight didn’t occur.
He also desired to compete against a top 5 opponent, but his wish was not fulfilled. Instead, he faces up-and-coming candidate Martinez. The two men had a spirited duel on Wednesday, so we would see some fireworks within the co-main event.
Caio Borralho and Michel Pereira are also Brazilian fighters with potential star power on the cardboard. Their bouts against Paul Craig and Ihor Potieria, respectively, could possibly be fights that catapult the Brazilians into the principal event spots at an upcoming Fight Night.
Be looking out for more information on fight week leading as much as Saturday’s pay-per-view event.
