Erceg Confirms He's OK After Brutal UFC Abu Dhabi KO
Steve Erceg has confirmed he's doing fine after getting knocked out cold in the co-main event of UFC Abu Dhabi.
Erceg faced Ramazonbek Temirov in a flyweight bout Saturday and was stopped inside the first round when the Uzbek fighter dropped him with right hands after an early barrage. The Australian flyweight, who had won back-to-back fights over Ode Osbourne and Tim Elliott, never got the chance to implement his plan of pushing the pace into the later rounds.
Erceg Thanks UFC, Vows To Return After Knockout Loss
In a video posted to Instagram, Erceg told fans he had a strong training camp and felt sharp heading into the fight. "I had a great camp, felt fantastic, but unfortunately things don't always go your way," he said, per Bloody Elbow. He thanked the UFC and Abu Dhabi's hospitality before congratulating Temirov on the finish.
Erceg thanked his family and friends for their support. "I'll be back," he added, according to Sherdog.
The loss is Erceg's second stoppage defeat in his professional career and his fourth setback inside the Octagon. The 27-year-old was fast-tracked to a flyweight title shot against Alexandre Pantoja in 2024 after just three UFC wins, but came up short in a decision loss that started a three-fight skid.
Temirov now has two first-round finishes in three UFC appearances. The Uzbek fighter entered the bout unranked but is expected to crack both the Meta panel and media rankings when they update this week, given Erceg sat at No. 13 and No. 10 respectively before Saturday.
Photo: Mikhail Volinkin1 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Original reporting:
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