Australian Steve Erceg has continued his rise up the UFC’s flyweight division, defeating a tricky Alessandro Costa to extend his MMA winning streak to 10 fights.
Erceg had five first-round finishes to his name before Sunday’s fight at UFC 295 but had his patience tested against the plucky Costa, who took the bout on short notice.
In the end, Erceg was crowned the winner by unanimous decision (29-28 x3), backing up his impressive upset win over David Dvorak back in June.
Erceg had the best moment of the opening round as a big right hand hurt Costa, with the Australian immediately looking to capitalise as he shot for the rear-naked choke.
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“Look how smooth that spin to mount was… sensational… a work of art,” Joe Rogan said.
Costa was able to survive even as Erceg tried to take the back, although it was still the Australian who finished the round the better of the two heading into the second.
That started to change though as Costa got through with a few brutal right hands that had Erceg backing up before later scoring a takedown on his fourth attempt.
For the most part Erceg’s patience and composure in picking his moments to attack seemingly set him up well against the more aggressive Costa, who was having success but also had to be careful not to leave himself open to the counter-attack.
To his credit, Costa was able to do that well by maintaining the high arm guard he had in the first and it was causing problems for Erceg.
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Costa’s aggression also saw him finish the second in emphatic fashion with a combination that hurt Erceg once more.
Costa’s aggression did eventually backfire though as he shot for an armbar late in the round and instead ended up on his back, with Erceg finishing the round on top in mount.
Still, for the most part, Costa had the better moments of the two in the second round, leaving the third and final round to decide who would have their arm raised.
There were no more fireworks though, with Erceg the ultimate professional as he controlled things well in the third while Costa likely came to rue a few missed opportunities.
