Former UFC flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg will seemingly need to stall the surge of a highly touted up-and-comer if he's to return to winning ways this year.
While Erceg's (12-3) year started out well with a brutal knockout win over Matt Schnell to remain undefeated in the UFC and further climb the ladder, he finished 2024 on a losing skid.
After a narrow defeat to Alexandre Pantoja in his surprise May title shot at UFC 301, "AstroBoy" failed to rebound three months later on home soil, with Kai Kara-France instead finding a quick finish to put his name back into the championship conversation.
With back-to-back losses on his record, Erceg will be fighting slightly further down pecking order next time out. And the man looking to extend his woes in the cage at the UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas on March 1 will reportedly be Asu Almabayev (21-2).
The news was first reported by @darteam.kazakhstan on Instagram before being corroborated by known Australian MMA insider Benny P.
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Almabayev has established himself as one to watch at 125 pounds since joining the UFC from Brave CF in 2023. The Kazakh fighter has reeled off four wins in the Octagon, most recently outpointing Matheus Nicolau to ascend to #8 in the rankings and extend his winning streak to 17.
With this addition, the current fights expected to take place at the UFC Fight Night on March 1 are as follows:
- Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape (flyweight main event)
- Steve Erceg vs. Asu Almabayev (flyweight)
- William Gomis vs. Lucas Almeida (featherweight)
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics (lightweight)
- Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson (welterweight)
- Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez (middleweight)
- Montana De La Rosa vs. Luana Carolina (women's flyweight)
- Lucas Almeida vs. Danny Silva (featherweight)