The UFC officially announced their fight night on March 1st from The APEX in Las Vegas and there are some tremendous fights on the card. One of the fights that was announced is a flyweight showcase between former title challenger Steve Erceg (12-3) and eighth ranked flyweight contender Asu Almabayev (21-2).
Starting with Almabayev, he made his octagon debut back in 2023 and he’s been sensational thus far. In four appearances he’s gone a perfect 4-0 with his latest win being a decision win over Matheus Nicolau back in October. Overall, he’s won a staggering 17 fights heading into this matchup against Erceg in March.
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Last March, Steve Erceg starched Matt Schnell is the second round of their fight to move to 3-0 in the UFC. Erceg proved that he was a dangerous contender and many thought he’d eventually challenge for the title. However, the promotion rushed him to the top and he fought Alexandre Pantoja in his next fight.
Erceg and Pantoja were tied 2-2 on the scorecards entering the final round. Erceg was dominating the striking with Pantoja dominating the grappling. After controlling the first part of the final round, Erceg shockingly engaged in grappling with Pantoja and found himself taken down which lost him the fight.
He turned around and faced Kai-Kara France in August and was knocked out in the first round. Now, he desperately needs to get back in the win column if he wants to remain a top contender in the UFC’s flyweight division, but it’s not going to come easy against the dangerous Asu Almabayev.