RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - ABRIL 29: Opponents Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil and Steve Erceg of ... [+]
The UFC returns to Brazil on Saturday, and Alexandre Pantoja defends his UFC Men’s Flyweight title against Steve Erceg in the main event.
In the co-main event, one of Brazil’s greatest former champions, UFC legend and Hall-of-Famer Jose Aldo, will take on Jonathan Martinez.
As usual, whenever the UFC goes to Brazil for a fight card, several other Brazilians will also be in action. Here is a look at the entire card and the viewing information.
Main Card - 10PM ET - ESPN+ PPV
- (c) Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg - Men’s UFC Flyweight Championship
- Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Martinez - Men’s Bantamweight
- Anthony Smith vs. Vitor Petrino - Light Heavyweight
- Ihor Potieria vs. Michel Pereira - Middleweight
- Paul Craig vs. Caio Borralho - Middleweight
UNDERCARD - 8PM ET - ESPN2 and ESPN+
- Joanderson Brito vs. Jack Shore - Featherweight
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Iasmin Lucindo - Strawweight
- Elves Brener vs. Myktybek Orolbai - Lightweight
- Jean Silva vs. William Gomis - Featherweight
Early Prelims - 6PM ET - UFC Fight Pass
- Joaquim Silva vs. Drakkar Klose - Lightweight
- Jamie Mullarkey vs. Mauricio Ruffy - Lightweight
- Dione Barbosa vs. Ernesta Kareckaite - Women’s Flyweight
- Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc Pichel - Lightweight
- Alessandro Costa vs. Kevin Borjas - Men’s Flyweight
Pantoja Looking to Clean Out the Division
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - APRIL 29: Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil poses for photo prior to the UFC 301 ... [+]
The champion comes into Saturday's title defense on a five-fight win streak. He hasn't lost a fight in almost four years. During his run with the UFC, Pantoja has faced–and mostly defeated–a who's who in the flyweight division.
Dating back to their time on The Ultimate Fighter Season 24 in 2016, Pantoja has defeated Brandon Moreno three times. He's knocked off Kai Kara France, Wilson Reis, Manel Kape, Brandon Royval (twice), Alex Perez and Matt Schnell.
The only flyweights of prominence during Pantoja's era to get the better of him were Deiveson Figueiredo and Askar Askarov. Figueiredo and Askarov scored unanimous decision wins over Pantoja in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
While his time crossed with Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo, Pantoja never fought them.
If Pantoja can emerge victorious against Erceg on Saturday, it will mark his second successful title defense. His first was a hard-fought win over Moreno at UFC 296 in December 2023. With more victories, Pantoja is pushing himself into the conversation as one of the greatest flyweights in history.
Steve Erceg’s Journey
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - MAY 01: Steve Erceg poses for a portrait during a UFC photo session on May ... [+]
Erceg has experienced one of the fastest rises to a championship opportunity in UFC history. Despite being ranked No. 10 at 125 pounds and having had just three fights in the promotion, Erceg is one win away from being a UFC champion.
The 28-year-old from Australia has beaten David Dvořák and Alessandro Costa unanimously and scored a KO victory over Schnell en route to challenging Pantoja.
If Erceg pulls off the upset, it will be one of the biggest in MMA this year. Pantoja is currently a minus-190 favorite to win.
Erceg doesn’t look like a stereotypical fighter–beyond the mild cauliflower ear–but he is eager to further establish himself as an elite competitor at 125 pounds.
Jose Aldo’s Last Stand?
Jose Aldo (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
The former UFC featherweight champion has come out of retirement to take this fight. He recently confirmed Saturday’s fight is his last on his current contract with the promotion. He was supposed to fight fellow UFC legend Dominick Cruz on this card, but that fight didn’t materialize.
He also wanted to face a top-5 opponent but was not granted his wish. Instead, he will face rising prospect Martinez. The two men had a spirited faceoff on Wednesday, so we may see some fireworks in the co-main event.
Caio Borralho and Michel Pereira are also Brazilian fighters with potential star power who are on the card. Their bouts against Paul Craig and Ihor Potieria, respectively, could be fights that vault the Brazilians into main event spots for an upcoming Fight Night.
Be on the lookout for more fight week info leading up to Saturday’s pay-per-view event.
