Top 15 flyweight Stephen Erceg has his eyes set on his next fight, calling for a match up with top 10 fighter Matt Schnell for UFC 293 in Sydney later this year.
โIโm look at number eight, Matt Schnell is somebody that I wanna fight. He walked out a few fights ago to my walkout song and I canโt have that. So, weโre going to fight for the walkout song. Winner takes all.โ Erceg said.
This callout comes less than a week after Ercegโs UFC debut, where he defeated number ten in the world David Dvorak on eight daysโ notice at UFC 289 in Vancouver.
Although confident in himself, coming in on short notice was something the Perth native was conscious of, not wanting to bite off more than he could chew in his UFC debut.
โI didnโt want to go out there and be like some of those other guys where theyโre fighting a guy they shouldnโt be in there with anyway, they put on a performance thatโs way better than you expected, but they ultimately still lose. I wanted to be that guy to really put my stamp on the division straight away.โ
Although aware of the risks, Erceg said that once he was in the cage, he wasnโt worried about feeling out of his depth.
โI felt like I shouldโve been in thereโฆI knew I was on the level, and I proved that I was.โ
Before getting to the cage, Erceg used the walkout as an opportunity to feed off the energy from the crowd,
โUsually when I walk out, I donโt want to high five anybody, I donโt wanna look at anybody, I wanna walk into the cage, itโs like business only. But something about it was extra exciting, so people were hanging over the rafters trying to get high fives, I had to give some out, then walked in. I tried not to pay too much attention to Bruce Buffer but then I caught his ring and I thought โMan, how much does this guy make?โ It was an exciting thing.โ
โI was thinking about it just before I walked out, it felt like youโre a gladiator or youโre in the Colosseum. In those moments you could understand why they did it. Itโs a different feeling, itโs hard to explain.โ
For Erceg it was all business as the fight began, Erceg saying it was a situation he was familiar with.
โIt felt like sparring. Another guy in front of you, youโre trying to figure him out. Another day at the officeโฆit sinks in after the fight, during the fight youโre just trying to think about the next round, making sure you secure the next round, looking for the finish, that sort of stuff.โ
Ercegโs performance earned him a $50,000 USD performance of the night bonus, which the Aussie said will be the first of many.
โIโm really boring so Iโm going to start paying off my house and that sort of stuff, wait for a few more bonuses down the line and then I can buy something more fancy like a Maserati or something.โ
Erceg didnโt get a chance to hang around Canada for too long following his win and is already back home and training at his gym, Wilkeโs MMA, in Perth. Erceg said that spirits in the gym are high following his successful UFC debut.
โEverybodyโs pretty pumped up, I think we had 10 people that immediately put their name down to fight. Everybodyโs excited, theyโre riding high. Iโm excited to see Richie [Lockett] tonight on Dragon Fire [Boxing]. Two wins in the gym in one week, thatโll be great.โ
Erceg will be in the crowd to support his teammate, a slight change of pace for the fighter, but a welcome one.
โI wonโt be cornering, my dad and my coach are cornering, Iโll be in the crowd making a fool of myself, drinking too much.โ