UFC star Steve Erceg says he can fight in Perth on short notice after career-saving victory in Las Vegas
Erceg (13-4) snapped a three-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision over Osbourne (13-9) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Sunday morning.
It was a vital win for the 30-year-old former title contender who was in danger of being cut by the UFC had he lost a fourth consecutive bout.
Erceg said he could back up in only seven weeks and fight in Perth on September 28 when light heavyweights Carlos Ulberg takes on Dominick Reyes in the main event.
'I think so. You never know but I think I can at the moment for sure,' Erceg said when asked if he could do the quick turnaround.
Things didn't look good early in the fight for Erceg when the free-wheeling Osbourne caught him with a lethal right hand.
The man known as 'AstroBoy' kept him composure to win the next two rounds, turning to his grappling to curtail the dangerous striker, taking control of to ensure he would get the win on the judges' scoreboards 29-28.
'(I was) Pretty hurt. Part of the game plan, though. Dad told me, 'Make sure you get hurt early, let him blow his load and then figure it out after that,'' Erceg said.
'I thought I did enough. You never really know, but I thought I had his back in the second, I had his back in the third, so I thought I did enough.'
Erceg said he had 'heaps' of pressure on himself heading into the fight to snap his losing streak.
'You have doubts going through your head,' he said.
'Was I a fraud along? Do I deserve to be here? All that nonsense.
'It's good to fight a tough guy in the UFC. He's been here for ages and to get a tough win.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
9 hours ago
- The Age
Foxtel may have lost its wow factor, but it's holding on to F1
Australia has a large, committed population of petrol heads, and with the racing calendar active from February to December, it guarantees potentially 200,000-plus subscribers year-round. While the sport has exploded in popularity since the launch of Netflix's Drive to Survive, legacy broadcasters are tightening their belts, and international sports broadcasters like ESPN are narrowing their focus. In America, incumbent ESPN let its exclusivity period with the F1 lapse this year, and AppleTV+ is set to step in off the back of F1:The Movie 's success. Apple did not appear to take a swing on the rights in Australia, nor did Netflix. Fight for your rights ESPN's current content strategy could have knock-on effects in Australia. Last week, the UFC announced it was leaving it for Network 10 owners Paramount in 2026, in a deal worth $US7.7 billion ($12 billion) over seven years in the US alone. UFC is also moving away from pay-per-view for its big events, with all bouts included in a Paramount+ subscription, and some of the spectacle will also find a home at Paramount's free-to-air network CBS. How that impacts Foxtel is still up in the air. It extended its current arrangement with ESPN last week, with a separate 'multi-year' (this usually means two or three) pay-per-view deal kicking off in 2024. We hear Paramount might have landed exclusive first-refusal of any new rights deals in international markets as part of its deal. But with the Conor McGregor glory-days of the UFC over, the big game for Foxtel is its negotiations with NRL, and how willing DAZN's owner Len Blavatnik will be to loosen the purse-strings to retain the rights to the tier one sport. NRL powerbroker Peter V'Landys, Foxtel's Delany and Kayo and Binge chief Hilary Perchard were guests of DAZN at the FIFA Club World Cup final in New York last month. All three posed for a picture alongside Blavatnik and CEO Shay Segev, with V'Landys, third-from-left, sporting a DAZN hat. Surely, a vote of confidence? Minister's homecoming He was spotted visiting Nine's 1 Denison St headquarters in recent weeks, and we can confirm former Coalition communications spokesperson David Coleman has been hired by the company to help identify business opportunities after its sale of home listings portal Domain. Coleman, the Member for Banks from 2013 to May this year, is a former director of strategy and digital at Nine, and was involved in the launch of Stan. He'll be in North Sydney two days a week, but won't be using his Rolodex to help the company's lobbying efforts in the national capital. Nine will net $1.4 billion for its stake in Domain, and after all is said and done with shareholders, should be left with a war chest of about $150 million in cash, analysts say, which is plenty to play with. More Australian content on Apple TV+? The world's third-largest company is hiring for a new marketing lead in Australia and New Zealand, just months after advertising for its first head of Apple TV down under. While Netflix has found success making a handful of Australian shows every year, Apple might be dipping its toes in the water while streaming content quotas remain up in the air. A leading contender for the Apple gig, and for Netflix' vacant content lead role, is Alison Hurbert-Burns, who left Foxtel earlier this year. Que Minh Luu, who recently left Netflix is also rumoured to be in the running at Apple. Busy Bibi Sharri Markson has been cultivating a senior source inside the Israeli Knesset for some time, travelling to Jerusalem in 2024 for 45-minute 'secret briefing' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The hard work has clearly paid off. Sky News' Markson managed to bag an exclusive chat with Bibi, who was fresh off his war of words with our own prime minister. It aired last night. The Israeli leader is clearly a man with a lot on his plate. You have to wonder where he finds time to do it all. But if Bibi was trying to make a splash, Sky After Dark' s audience is hardly the ABC in prime time. Last time we checked, Sharri's average nightly broadcast audience was about 31,000, but we concede there's a much bigger audience on YouTube.
Sydney Morning Herald
9 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Foxtel may have lost its wow factor, but it's holding on to F1
Australia has a large, committed population of petrol heads, and with the racing calendar active from February to December, it guarantees potentially 200,000-plus subscribers year-round. While the sport has exploded in popularity since the launch of Netflix's Drive to Survive, legacy broadcasters are tightening their belts, and international sports broadcasters like ESPN are narrowing their focus. In America, incumbent ESPN let its exclusivity period with the F1 lapse this year, and AppleTV+ is set to step in off the back of F1:The Movie 's success. Apple did not appear to take a swing on the rights in Australia, nor did Netflix. Fight for your rights ESPN's current content strategy could have knock-on effects in Australia. Last week, the UFC announced it was leaving it for Network 10 owners Paramount in 2026, in a deal worth $US7.7 billion ($12 billion) over seven years in the US alone. UFC is also moving away from pay-per-view for its big events, with all bouts included in a Paramount+ subscription, and some of the spectacle will also find a home at Paramount's free-to-air network CBS. How that impacts Foxtel is still up in the air. It extended its current arrangement with ESPN last week, with a separate 'multi-year' (this usually means two or three) pay-per-view deal kicking off in 2024. We hear Paramount might have landed exclusive first-refusal of any new rights deals in international markets as part of its deal. But with the Conor McGregor glory-days of the UFC over, the big game for Foxtel is its negotiations with NRL, and how willing DAZN's owner Len Blavatnik will be to loosen the purse-strings to retain the rights to the tier one sport. NRL powerbroker Peter V'Landys, Foxtel's Delany and Kayo and Binge chief Hilary Perchard were guests of DAZN at the FIFA Club World Cup final in New York last month. All three posed for a picture alongside Blavatnik and CEO Shay Segev, with V'Landys, third-from-left, sporting a DAZN hat. Surely, a vote of confidence? Minister's homecoming He was spotted visiting Nine's 1 Denison St headquarters in recent weeks, and we can confirm former Coalition communications spokesperson David Coleman has been hired by the company to help identify business opportunities after its sale of home listings portal Domain. Coleman, the Member for Banks from 2013 to May this year, is a former director of strategy and digital at Nine, and was involved in the launch of Stan. He'll be in North Sydney two days a week, but won't be using his Rolodex to help the company's lobbying efforts in the national capital. Nine will net $1.4 billion for its stake in Domain, and after all is said and done with shareholders, should be left with a war chest of about $150 million in cash, analysts say, which is plenty to play with. More Australian content on Apple TV+? The world's third-largest company is hiring for a new marketing lead in Australia and New Zealand, just months after advertising for its first head of Apple TV down under. While Netflix has found success making a handful of Australian shows every year, Apple might be dipping its toes in the water while streaming content quotas remain up in the air. A leading contender for the Apple gig, and for Netflix' vacant content lead role, is Alison Hurbert-Burns, who left Foxtel earlier this year. Que Minh Luu, who recently left Netflix is also rumoured to be in the running at Apple. Busy Bibi Sharri Markson has been cultivating a senior source inside the Israeli Knesset for some time, travelling to Jerusalem in 2024 for 45-minute 'secret briefing' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The hard work has clearly paid off. Sky News' Markson managed to bag an exclusive chat with Bibi, who was fresh off his war of words with our own prime minister. It aired last night. The Israeli leader is clearly a man with a lot on his plate. You have to wonder where he finds time to do it all. But if Bibi was trying to make a splash, Sky After Dark' s audience is hardly the ABC in prime time. Last time we checked, Sharri's average nightly broadcast audience was about 31,000, but we concede there's a much bigger audience on YouTube.
The Advertiser
5 days ago
- The Advertiser
Chimaev beats du Plessis to win UFC middleweight title
Chechen-born wrestling specialist Khamzat Chimaev has completely dominated Dricus du Plessis to win the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 319, smothering the South African with his grappling. Chimaev scored a unanimous decision victory on the judges' scorecards on Saturday night in Chicago. He set the tone in the opening minute, shooting for an early takedown to bring the fight to the mat and pinning the South African in a crucifix position before raining punches with his left hand, but the blows did little damage and du Plessis survived. Round two began in much the same fashion as the 31-year-old again brought the fight to the mat. This time he stuck to his opponent's back like a limpet to threaten with knee strikes and choke attempts, and Du Plessis was spent in the third and fourth rounds in similarly poor positions. There was a brief sliver of hope late in the final frame as du Plessis finally managed to get himself into a threatening position, but it was too little, too late, and Chimaev was declared the winner, with all three judges scoring the fight 50 to 44 in his favour. "I never game-plan. I just came in, work like I do in the gym. That guy is strong, I couldn't finish, respect that guy, he's the only champion who was saying my name. This guy has real heart, a real lion, a real African lion," Chimaev said, the new championship belt around his waist. Du Plessis took his dethroning with good grace before promising to win the title back. "He deserves this 100 percent, he beat me fair and square tonight. He was the better man tonight, and I'll be back. I'll come and get my belt back, but for now, it's his and he deserves it, and he has to enjoy it," he said. Chechen-born wrestling specialist Khamzat Chimaev has completely dominated Dricus du Plessis to win the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 319, smothering the South African with his grappling. Chimaev scored a unanimous decision victory on the judges' scorecards on Saturday night in Chicago. He set the tone in the opening minute, shooting for an early takedown to bring the fight to the mat and pinning the South African in a crucifix position before raining punches with his left hand, but the blows did little damage and du Plessis survived. Round two began in much the same fashion as the 31-year-old again brought the fight to the mat. This time he stuck to his opponent's back like a limpet to threaten with knee strikes and choke attempts, and Du Plessis was spent in the third and fourth rounds in similarly poor positions. There was a brief sliver of hope late in the final frame as du Plessis finally managed to get himself into a threatening position, but it was too little, too late, and Chimaev was declared the winner, with all three judges scoring the fight 50 to 44 in his favour. "I never game-plan. I just came in, work like I do in the gym. That guy is strong, I couldn't finish, respect that guy, he's the only champion who was saying my name. This guy has real heart, a real lion, a real African lion," Chimaev said, the new championship belt around his waist. Du Plessis took his dethroning with good grace before promising to win the title back. "He deserves this 100 percent, he beat me fair and square tonight. He was the better man tonight, and I'll be back. I'll come and get my belt back, but for now, it's his and he deserves it, and he has to enjoy it," he said. Chechen-born wrestling specialist Khamzat Chimaev has completely dominated Dricus du Plessis to win the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 319, smothering the South African with his grappling. Chimaev scored a unanimous decision victory on the judges' scorecards on Saturday night in Chicago. He set the tone in the opening minute, shooting for an early takedown to bring the fight to the mat and pinning the South African in a crucifix position before raining punches with his left hand, but the blows did little damage and du Plessis survived. Round two began in much the same fashion as the 31-year-old again brought the fight to the mat. This time he stuck to his opponent's back like a limpet to threaten with knee strikes and choke attempts, and Du Plessis was spent in the third and fourth rounds in similarly poor positions. There was a brief sliver of hope late in the final frame as du Plessis finally managed to get himself into a threatening position, but it was too little, too late, and Chimaev was declared the winner, with all three judges scoring the fight 50 to 44 in his favour. "I never game-plan. I just came in, work like I do in the gym. That guy is strong, I couldn't finish, respect that guy, he's the only champion who was saying my name. This guy has real heart, a real lion, a real African lion," Chimaev said, the new championship belt around his waist. Du Plessis took his dethroning with good grace before promising to win the title back. "He deserves this 100 percent, he beat me fair and square tonight. He was the better man tonight, and I'll be back. I'll come and get my belt back, but for now, it's his and he deserves it, and he has to enjoy it," he said. Chechen-born wrestling specialist Khamzat Chimaev has completely dominated Dricus du Plessis to win the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 319, smothering the South African with his grappling. Chimaev scored a unanimous decision victory on the judges' scorecards on Saturday night in Chicago. He set the tone in the opening minute, shooting for an early takedown to bring the fight to the mat and pinning the South African in a crucifix position before raining punches with his left hand, but the blows did little damage and du Plessis survived. Round two began in much the same fashion as the 31-year-old again brought the fight to the mat. This time he stuck to his opponent's back like a limpet to threaten with knee strikes and choke attempts, and Du Plessis was spent in the third and fourth rounds in similarly poor positions. There was a brief sliver of hope late in the final frame as du Plessis finally managed to get himself into a threatening position, but it was too little, too late, and Chimaev was declared the winner, with all three judges scoring the fight 50 to 44 in his favour. "I never game-plan. I just came in, work like I do in the gym. That guy is strong, I couldn't finish, respect that guy, he's the only champion who was saying my name. This guy has real heart, a real lion, a real African lion," Chimaev said, the new championship belt around his waist. Du Plessis took his dethroning with good grace before promising to win the title back. "He deserves this 100 percent, he beat me fair and square tonight. He was the better man tonight, and I'll be back. I'll come and get my belt back, but for now, it's his and he deserves it, and he has to enjoy it," he said.
