Brandon Moreno’s head coach Sayif Saud thinks the public isn’t giving Steve Erceg enough credit ahead of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 64 main event.
Former two-time flyweight champion Moreno (22-8-2 MMA, 10-4-2 UFC) gets another headliner on home Mexican soil when he takes on Erceg (12-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at Arena CDMX in Mexico City (ESPN2, ESPN+). “The Assassin Baby” is the moderate favorite going into the five-round contest, and although his team at Fortis MMA and Saud have full confidence, they aren’t looking at this as a freebee in Moreno’s quest back to championship glory.
“Steve Erceg is a tough challenge,” Saud told MMA Junkie. “That’s kind of what’s getting lost in the weeds here. This kid is one of the toughest guys in the division. He lost to (Alexandre) Pantoja? OK. Everyone has been losing to Pantoja. Nothing but respect to the champ. And he got clipped by Kai Kara-France and that was a close fight and he caught him. … To look at Erceg like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s done.’ He’s the new breed. He’s got great boxing. Good jiu-jitsu. Very, very high fight IQ. Very, very smart. Very tough. Big, five-round cardio. He’s good.”
