Tomorrow night in the co-main event of UFC 305, we are going to see a major matchup in the flyweight division. Former title challenger Steve Erceg (12-2) will look to bounce back as he fights in front of his home country against New Zealand’s top flyweight Kai Kara-France (24-11, 1 NC).
Starting with Kara-France, he will look to avoid a third straight loss tomorrow night. Back in 2022, Kara-France defeated Askar Askarov which was his third straight win and that earned him an interim title fight against Brandon Moreno. He lost by TKO in that fight and then lost a razor close decision to Amir Albazi last June. He hasn’t fought since as he’s been out dealing with concussion issues. However, he’s fully healthy now and is looking to get back in the title picture.
Steve Erceg created huge waves early in his UFC career. After entering the octagon 9-1, he won his first three fights including a brutal knockout over Matt Schnell. That Schnell knockout earned him a title shot against Alexandre Pantoja back in May. Erceg put on a helluva performance and the fight was even going into the final round.
Despite dominating the striking, Erceg engaged Pantoja in grappling and the champion reversed the position to get on top. He rode out the round and Erceg’s decision likely lost him the title. Now, he’ll try to bounce back in a big way to get back to the UFC flyweight championship.
UFC 305 Prediction
I’m very excited about this fight and this is one to watch for Fight of the Night. Kara-France’s style is incredibly exciting and we know how fast he is. That said, Steve Erceg might have the cleanest boxing in the division and he’s so long that I could really see the length bothering someone like Kara-France.
Ultimately, I do think that Kara-France is going to struggle at UFC 305. Erceg’s size is really going to play here and in a pure striking fight, I like Erceg a lot. I think his clean technique will allow him to stay on the outside while landing bigger shots ultimately scoring a big decision over Kai Kara-France.
Prediction: Steve Erceg by Decision