Steve Erceg never could have anticipated being in this position this soon, yet here he stands.
The once-beaten Australian will challenge Alexandre Pantoja for the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight title in the UFC 301 headliner this Saturday at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Erceg, who was not even on the UFC radar a year ago, owns a 3-0 record inside the promotion and enters the Octagon with the fuel of an 11-fight winning streak in his tanks. The 28-year-old last appeared at UFC Fight Night 238, where he punched out Matt Schnell a cool 26 seconds into the second round of their March 2 pairing.