Why rising UFC flyweight would rather not fight Kiwi counterpart

By Christopher Reive

Steve Erceg has a clear pathway in mind to follow to get a shot at the UFC flyweight title.

But he’d rather not have Kiwi counterpart Kai Kara-France appear on that road.

The Perth product returns to action this weekend at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in the featured preliminary bout against unranked Alessandro Costa - a late replacement after Matt Schnell was forced to withdraw.

Ahead of his UFC debut in June – a unanimous decision win over then-No.10 David Dvorak – Erceg told Code Sports he believed he could become the division’s champion with just four wins, but with Schnell pulling out, the current No.14 ranked flyweight admits that timeline has been set back.

“I was definitely disappointed I won’t get to fight Schnell. He’s ranked No.9 and that means something to, not just me, but the casual fan and to help with progressing,” Erceg tells the Herald.

“I think it definitely sets [that timeline] back, and performance matters too. If I have a hard-fought decision, it gets set back a little bit more than if I go out and emphatically finish this guy. We’ll see how it goes and make a plan based off that.”

Schnell’s pulling out of the fight was one of two withdrawals on the card that affected Erceg, with injury forcing heavyweight champion Jon Jones out of his title defence which was scheduled to headline the card.

“I was really looking forward to that fight - almost more than I was looking forward to my own fight,” Erceg says.

Erceg was still hopeful of a fast road to a title shot, and an impressive win over Costa this weekend would give him the opportunity to call out one of the division’s top 10.

However, he says while he’s going to have to beat at least a couple of top 10 opponents on his road to a title shot, he admits he would rather Kara-France – currently ranked No. 4 - was not one of them.

“Obviously I’ve thought about it, but it’s a guy I’d prefer not to fight as a fellow Anzac. He’s a guy I looked up to when I was coming up the ranks as an amateur before I was even a pro.

“I’d prefer to not have to, but if he gets offered I’m going to say yes, and if he’s got the title then it’s inevitable, I’m going to fight him.”

Before he can think about his road through the top 10, however, Erceg will have to get through what shapes up as a stern test in Costa.

Costa’s position is a familiar one to the No.14 ranked Erceg, who made his UFC debut on short notice in June against Dvorak, claiming an impressive win and a US$50,000 performance of the night bonus for his efforts.

Although unranked, Costa shapes up as a more challenging fight for Erceg than the wild style of Schnell might have presented. The Brazilian is an explosive and technical striker who fights well whether he is on the front foot or countering, and although he hasn’t shown much of it in the UFC, he has strong grappling. He’s similarly well-rounded to Erceg, who mixes his striking well, pushes the pace and is a submission threat if the fight hits the mat.

“If I use my range well, that’s going to be a bit of a struggle for him...I think he’s such an explosive guy that if I can make him fight at my pace that will be trouble for him,” Erceg says.

“I’d definitely put him as a tougher test than Schnell.”

What time is UFC 295 in New Zealand?
Sunday from 12pm.

How to watch UFC 295 in New Zealand
Main card - pay-per-view on Sky Arena, Sky Sport Now ($39.95) and UFC Fight Pass (approx. $42.20)

Light heavyweight title bout: Jiri Prochazka (1) v Alex Periera (3)

Interim heavyweight title bout: Sergei Pavlovich (2) v Tom Aspinall (4)

Strawweight: Jessica Andrade (5) v Mackenzie Dern (7)

Lightweight: Matt Frevola (14) v Benoit Saint-Denis

Featherweight: Diego Lopes v Pat Sabatini.

Prelims - live on UFC Fight Pass, ESPN, Sky Sport Now and Sky Open from 2pm

Flyweight: Steve Erceg (14) v Alessandro Costa

Strawweight: Tabatha Ricci (10) v Lupita Godinez (13)

Lightweight: Mateusz Rececki v Roosevelt Roberts

Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov v Viacheslav Borshchev

Early prelims - live on UFC Fight Pass from 12pm

Lightweight: Jared Gordon v Mark O. Madsen

Bantamweight: John Castaneda v Kang Hyung-ho

Flyweight: Joshua Van v Kevin Borjas

Featherweight: Bennis Buzukja v Jamall Emmers

Where is UFC 295?
Madison Square Garden, New York,