Alexandre Pantoja vs Steve Erceg Prediction: Pantoja will be active from the start

Prediction for the UFC 301 Alexandre Pantojavs vs Steve Erceg fight which will take place on May 5th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Alexandre Pantoja has been in the UFC since 2017, but until 2021, he was a typical middleweight—getting beat by Askar Askarov, Deiveson Figueiredo, and even Dustin Ortiz. Then he went on a winning streak, got a chance to fight Brandon Moreno for the belt, and took it, winning by split decision.

The lightweight division is in crisis, and there aren't many worthy contenders at the moment (to put it mildly). Pantoja made his first defence last year (a points win over Brandon Royval) and now he's got an even more controversial challenger.

Steve Erceg is on an eleven-fight winning streak, but only three of those wins have come in the UFC, and his opponents have not been the best - David Dvorak, Alessandro Costa, and Matt Schnell. The Australian is not bad on the feet or the ground, but there is nothing brilliant about him - he is just a very tough guy who suddenly got lucky. His advantage will only be an incredible motivation. There may never be another chance like this.

The only intrigue in this fight is whether Erceg can go all five rounds, given that he has never faced such formidable opposition in his career and has never gone past the third round. Pantoja will be active from the start, and when the challenger tires and loses concentration, the champion will take him down and finish him off.