Steve Erceg Chases a Third Straight Win and a Top-8 Spot in Abu Dhabi

Steve Erceg meets Ramazan Temirov in Abu Dhabi on July 25 with a chance to run his win streak to three and lock himself into the top eight of a flyweight division that's suddenly one of the deepest in the UFC. The Perth native has already lived a full career arc in three years on the roster, from short-notice debut to title challenger to a two-fight skid that had people writing him off.

The Meteoric Rise

The rise was ridiculous. Erceg took the David Dvorak fight in Vancouver on short notice, won it and banked a Performance of the Night bonus — he handed Dvorak (now 20-6) a unanimous-decision loss. He then out-worked Alessandro Costa at Madison Square Garden and finished Matt Schnell inside four months, which was enough to land a shot at Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 in Rio before he'd even hit a year on the roster.

That title fight against Pantoja — the division's current #1 at 30-6 — was close, and Erceg lost the decision. What followed was the real test: a knockout defeat to Kai Kara-France at home, then a decision loss to Brandon Moreno in Mexico City in March 2025. Two straight losses, and the "quick burn" label started sticking.

Finding the Reset

Erceg says the Moreno night was the low point. He admitted he'd been fighting not to lose, and walked back to the locker room feeling physically sick that he hadn't emptied the tank. His fix wasn't some grand epiphany — he says the mental shift happened naturally, but the mindset was blunt: he'd rather get knocked out swinging than coast to a loss.

The rebuild started with a decision over Ode' Osbourne, then continued into 2026 with a home win over veteran Tim Elliott in Perth. Erceg tells a funny story about the Elliott fight — Elliott jammed his chin into Erceg's eye off a takedown, then accused Erceg of eye-poking when Erceg pushed his face away. Erceg's response was essentially: mate, we're fighting, let's go.

Eyeing the Top Eight

Now he's clear-eyed about where he fits. Erceg reckons a win over Temirov puts him in the mix with the top-five and top-eight names, and he's happy to fight guys like Brandon Royval — the contenders not quite ready for a belt shot. He's fired up by how good the recent flyweight cards have been, pointing to Pantoja getting hurt against Joshua Van and Manel Kape's hot run as evidence the division's wide open at the top.

The Temirov matchup carries a wrinkle: the returning fighter has been out roughly 18 months, plenty of time to add new tricks. Erceg isn't losing sleep over it. His view is simple — you can't game-plan for what you haven't seen, so he's focused on his own game and confident that whatever Temirov brings, he'll hand back more than the returning man can deal with.