Steve Erceg is the Australian Steve Carrell lookalike who was called up to fight for a UFC title shot while devouring KFC… meet ‘Astro Boy’, the most unlikely challenger in recent history ahead of the fight in Rio de Janeiro

The response from many MMA fans when they learned that Steve Erceg would face Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 was, “Who?”

Erceg is only ranked 10th in the division and the Australian has only fought three times in the UFC.

But this Saturday evening, he will face the Brazilian in the champion’s garden, in Rio de Janeiro, undoubtedly to the chant of local supporters “uh vai morrer”, which translates as “you are going to die”.

Erceg’s big opportunity was an unexpected summons for the fans but also for the man himself.

He was eating a bucket of fried chicken when his feast was interrupted by UFC bosses asking if he would accept Pantoja for the belt.

The man fans compare to Steve Carrell’s Michael Scott on The Office is ranked No. 10

Erceg has won all three of his UFC fights so far, but his elevation is a surprise

Eceg explained on UFC Embedded: “I was back a few days after the Matt Schnell fight, just to go get some KFC and I got a call from my manager who said he wanted me to fight Pantoja.

“So I was in a weird situation. I didn’t know whether to finish the box or put it away.

“In the end I decided to finish the KFC and then I started calling my dad and my coach and all that kind of stuff.”

Even though Erceg is a newcomer to MMA’s biggest promotion, that doesn’t mean his skills don’t justify the huge opportunity presented to him.

He is undefeated in 11 fights, has only lost once as a professional and finished Matt Schnell by impressive knockout in his last encounter.

So who is this 28-year-old from Perth?

Erceg explained that his interest in the UFC was piqued when he realized that certain skills could help smaller fighters beat much bigger and more powerful men.

He said: “Brock Lesnar was coming to the UFC, and there was a big hype around the fact that he had the biggest hands in the UFC. They made him customize this, customize that, he’s an absolute animal, a monster.

Erceg, pictured here with his other half Katelyn, has a huge opportunity on Saturday

“And he was fighting this guy called Frank Mir, and even though they were both heavyweights, Frank Mir looked like a much smaller gentleman, and I just didn’t think he had a chance of beating Brock.

“When the fight started, Brock gave him a little shout, and then, out of nowhere, Frank grabbed his foot, twisted his ankle, and Brock had to give up. Seeing a bigger guy get done exploitation by a smaller guy intrigued me, as a naturally smaller person, to learn what happened.

“From that moment on, I knew I wanted to at least know what was going on there, and I asked my dad to find a gym as quickly as possible. »

Without having raised his profile to the point of being immediately recognizable to casual fans, Erceg has been given a few lookalikes.

Actor Steve Carrell is one of them, particularly his Office character “Michael Scott”, who has been compared to the Australian flyweight.

Zoolander, Aaron Rodgers and Novak Djokovic are others he has been compared to in the past.

Even his nickname “Astro Boy” originated from a resemblance to the character in a Japanese comic book series.

He said: “It’s not even a good story. We were thinking about things and I brought up “Wonderboy” because Stephen Thompson has the same name, so I was like, “Oh, Wonderboy.”

“My coach’s ex-girlfriend said to me, ‘Oh, what about Astro Boy?’ You look a bit like him. That’s literally it. It kind of stuck, and people liked it, so I took it. I don’t even think I wrote it down on my fighter card. I think one of my old corners decided to put it down. Since then, it has remained.

It’s a near perfect storm for Erceg when it comes to flyweight contenders not fitting the bill to face Pantoja.

Pantoja has the pressure of fighting at home on his shoulders this weekend

Of the nine men above him, Brandon Royval had just been beaten, Brandon Moreno had lost, and the other seven were either assigned to fight, injured, or hadn’t blown the doors down with a performance of ” choose me “.

And Pantoja has cautious respect for Erceg despite his ranking. He told Sherdog: “Erceg is a very tough fighter. He is big and strong for our weight class. He is also young. He’s part of the new generation of guys coming into MMA.

“I’m preparing harder than usual, especially since we’re going to fight at home. I want to put on a great show for everyone. I am convinced that Erceg deserves this chance. I train very hard for my fight. I’m still evolving.

“I always talk about how tough the flyweight division is,” Pantoja said. “Without a doubt, any guy in the Top 10 can present a tough challenge to the champion. I will make sure I do everything in my power to remain world champion.

Although Erceg is an unlikely challenger, he is not an outrageous underdog, currently a 7/4 underdog to upset the champion.

But he can enter the fight without any pressure, with the full weight of expectations and home support on Pantoja.

Erceg is the bigger man but remains an underdog with the bookmakers for the UFC 301 main event.

One man familiar with Erceg’s abilities is Alexander Volkanovski, his fellow Australian who is confident in his countryman’s finishing.

The former featherweight champion told Fox Sports Australia: “Steve Erceg is about to shock the world.”and that’s why I’m so excited for this fight.

“Because when I see Steve fight, I know he’s ready for it. And I know it might be harder for other people to accept because they haven’t seen him get tested in fights.

“But I know if he was, he would have shown it. And now on Sunday he has this opportunity. I think he will catch the champion in the third round,” he continued.

“Pantoja has a dangerous style, so Steve will have to respect that and weather the storm early. He doesn’t want to try to capitalize right away, he might get caught. Plus, he can handle this fire anyway.

Can the unassuming Australian shock the world in enemy territory?

“So he’ll avoid some of the big things that come his way, figure things out… then it’ll be ‘who cares about being in Rio, who cares about the boos from the crowd, who cares about facing the champion?’.

“Steve will be calm, composed, and that’s why I think it will come in these middle rounds. Either he catches him or he gets the submission.

If Volkanovski is right, this will be one of the most remarkable rises to UFC glory in recent years and those “you’re going to die” chants will fall silent in Rio de Janeiro.