{"id":390816,"date":"2024-05-04T21:06:48","date_gmt":"2024-05-04T21:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=390816"},"modified":"2024-05-04T23:06:33","modified_gmt":"2024-05-04T23:06:33","slug":"ultimate-underdog-ready-to-bring-ufc-gold-to-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=390816","title":{"rendered":"Ultimate underdog ready to bring UFC gold to Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alexandre Pantoja has waited a long time to headline a pay-per-view card on his native soil, and he wants it known that everyone is welcome in Brazil.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to say to all the fans to respect the gringos that are here because Brazil\u2019s a good place with very good people,\u201d Pantoja said in a bit of mixed messaging. \u201cWe\u2019re very nice to everyone who comes to (our) country.\u201d<\/p>\n

The welcome mat extends only so far, though, with the flyweight champion comparing himself to a cannibal in how he will treat Australia's Steve Erceg on Saturday night in UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n

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A Brazilian fighter is in every bout on this card.<\/p>\n

Pantoja (27-5) is the red-hot favourite for this fight, and even Erceg (12-1) said it's not the dream matchup many envisioned for the main event, but Pantoja already has beaten many others in the division to dwindle the options.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

So the division's 10th-ranked challenger got the call.<\/p>\n

\u201cUFC decided to give me a shot,\u201d Erceg said. \u201cI\u2019m here to be the best guy in the world, so whether I\u2019m an underdog or whether I\u2019m a favorite, it doesn\u2019t really matter to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the first time in four years a flyweight bout has been the main event for a PPV card, and the 34-year-old Pantoja said he doesn't take that honor lightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned more and more about how to be a champion with UFC,\u201d Pantoja said. \u201cUFC gave me that opportunity. I\u2019m still learning with that. I\u2019m very humble. … I hope I can win Saturday and still be a good example for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was clear this week which fighter was the local and which was the tourist.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old Erceg got some attention on social media for wearing a blue polo as he stood next to Pantoja in a floral shirt for a publicity photo shoot with Sugarloaf Mountain in the background. Pantoja said his opponent looked like a tourist, to which Erceg responded by saying, well, he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a fashion contest, so I\u2019m wearing what I think\u2019s comfortable," Erceg said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am a tourist, right? I\u2019m over here doing my part to enjoy the scenery as well as come here and fight some guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erceg has treated this week as a vacation in many ways, taking in the scenery while mixing with the populace. He said even though the crowd will be against him when he steps into the cage, his reception in Brazil has been favorable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lest anyone think that Erceg is enjoying himself too much for what's supposed to be a business trip, he showed up at Wednesday's news conference wearing the rival soccer jersey of Pantoja's favorite team. Some head games, perhaps?<\/p>\n

Pantoja will have his chance to respond Saturday, but it's arguable whether this is even the biggest event taking place in Rio that day. Madonna has a free concert planned on the famous Copacabana Beach that will be broadcast on Brazilian TV.<\/p>\n

More than a million people are expected to attend the concert for the Material Girl, who often is notoriously late for her own shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cRio is the place for big shows," Pantoja said. \u201cMadonna called me and said she's going to finish the show before my fight. I said, \u2018OK.' We'll make an after-party with her.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alexandre Pantoja has waited a long time to headline a pay-per-view card on his native soil, and he wants it known that everyone is welcome […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":390818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390816"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=390816"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":390821,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390816\/revisions\/390821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/390818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=390816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=390816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=390816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}