UFC 301: West Australian Steve Erceg concedes grappling strategy backfired in title loss to Alexandre Pantoja

West Australian UFC star Steve Erceg has conceded his decision to wrestle flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja “backfired” on him in his heart-breaking loss at UFC 301. Erceg (12-2) pushed the champion in a brutal five-round war but lost to Pantoja by unanimous decision in the main event in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning. The No.10 ranked flyweight was looking to cause one of the biggest upsets in the promotions history by winning the title in only his fourth fight. And after a slow start he looked on track, cutting Pantoja open twice and using his range and superior striking to control most of the latter part of the fight. Erceg went away from this strategy in the final round, instead trying to take Pantoja down twice which was reversed by the grappler, and he took control on the mat. This time in control swayed the judges to give Pantoja the final round and arguably cost the Australian the title. “In hindsight taking him down was a mistake but at the time I thought it was the best thing to do,” Erceg told The West Australian. “Yes, he was beating me in the grappling but that’s when he got me down. Given how tired he was getting and if I could get on top of him, it was an easy way to win 30 seconds of the round and make the stand up more dominant. “At the time I thought it was the right thing to do but it didn’t work in my favour.” Erceg escaped the fight without any major injuries and will now go on holiday before preparing for his next bout. The proud West Australian is aiming to re-enter the octagon at UFC 305 at RAC Arena on August 18 and wants a flyweight in the top five to re-establish himself as a contender. “I’d like to fight on the Perth card. I don’t have any injuries, I’m just a bit sore from after the fight,” Erceg said. “Anybody good, anyone ranked above me. Someone in the top five would be nice. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get there (another title shot). I will improve on the little things and I think I can go from losing a close decision to winning in dominant fashion.”