Latest news with #OdeOsbourne
Yahoo
11-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Steve Erceg admits he felt "heaps" of pressure to snap his losing skid vs. Ode Osbourne
UFC on ESPN 72 winner Steve Erceg talks to MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight after his unanimous decision victory over Ode Osbourne.
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Steve Erceg unfazed by opponent changes, ready to turn things around at UFC on ESPN 72
Steve Erceg will look to turn his career around at UFC on ESPN 72. Erceg (12-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) takes on Ode Osbourne (13-8 MMA, 5-6 UFC) in a bantamweight bout in Saturday's co-main event (ESPN, ESPN+) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Erceg was first booked against Alex Perez, but Perez withdrew due to injury. He was then matched up with HyungSung Park, but Park was pulled to face Tatsuro Taira in this past Saturday's UFC on ESPN 71 headliner. Erceg finally ended up with Osbourne at a weight class above. Despite the numerous change of opponents, Erceg was only concerned with whether or not he's fighting. "Honestly, I don't think it's that tricky," Erceg told MMA Junkie on Monday. "The hardest part is staying disciplined when you don't know if you've got an opponent or not, with your diet and stuff, because all I'm thinking about is eating a burger or having a cake. So, I've got to stay disciplined until I get the news that either I don't have an opponent or this one I found out I'm fighting at bantamweight, so a little bit more enjoyment this week." Erceg said the UFC reached out to him to replace Amir Albazi against Taira, but he turned it down because of the inconvenient timing. After losing three straight fights, the former title challenger admits the step down in competition is probably a blessing in disguise. "Obviously all that sort of stuff plays into your mind," Erceg said. "It's hard because I always want to say yes to the UFC. I've always been like, 'Yeah, I'll fight anybody, anytime, anywhere,' and it's like at some point you're fighting for your spot in the UFC, and you don't want to keep putting yourself in a position where you're at a small detriment, and I'm 100 percent willing to fight Taira five rounds or whatever, I just couldn't make it happen this time." Erceg's losses came to UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, former title challenger Kai Kara-France, and former champion Brandon Moreno. "It's hard because if you lose – the guys I've lost to are all like the best guys in the world," Erceg said. "So you go, that's a caveat to losing, but at the same time losing is still losing, and if you lose six in a row, but they're all to the top six guys, you still lost six in a row. "I know at some point I have to go from competing with the best guys in the world to beating the best guys in the world, and I'm doing everything I can to make sure I will and can do that as far as mental, as far as training, making adjustments everywhere I can, and try to build on the things that are working as well. I really do think I can be a world champion. I've just got to make it all click I guess." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC on ESPN 72: Steve Erceg ready to rebound from tough stretch
USA Today
06-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Entering UFC on ESPN 65, Ode Osbourne didn't feel pressure of three-fight skid: 'I know how good I am'
LAS VEGAS – Ode Osbourne had his back against the wall coming into UFC on ESPN 65, but never felt the pressure from his recent results. Osbourne (13-8 MMA, 5-6 UFC) was on a three-fight skid entering the showdown against an undefeated newcomer in Luis Gurule at the UFC Apex. Simply sticking to his self-belief, Osbourne went out and put on a fantastic performance, leading to a second-round TKO stoppage. 'When I was going into this fight, I didn't see anything that he was gonna do to me on the feet – that was my take on it,' Osbourne told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. 'The one thing that I know he did well was that he moves his head, and he has good cardio. So, I was like, alright, I'm going to take his gas tank away. … Eventually, I'm going to get the TKO, and people are going to start calling me T-K-Ode.' Osbourne had plenty of praise to offer for his striking coach, Dewey Cooper, who he believes doesn't get enough credit for his work. Not only did the constant drilling of striking techniques lead to the finish, but Osbourne said a persistant focus on mental growth, maturity and leaning on experience were big factors as well. Whenever a fighter in the UFC loses three straight, oftentimes their job could be on the line. Despite being in that position, Osbourne said he didn't feel that pressure, and simply focused on executing his gameplan to bounce back from a string of tough results. 'Honestly, no, because I know how good I am,' Osbourne responded when asked if he felt more pressure. 'As long as I'm confident in my abilities, I know where I'm at. I just had to force myself to stay calm. That is the biggest thing, becasue man, once I get going and start using my explosiveness, I just unleash and sometimes I gas myself out.' Check out Osbourne's full post-fight interview in the video above. For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC on ESPN 65.
