UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja Inspired by ‘Rocky’ Movies to Gift Steve Erceg Title Shot

'Rocky super-fan' Pantoja wants to "make his own movie" in the main event of UFC 301.

Dec 16, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alexandre Pantoja (red gloves) during UFC 296 at T-Mobile / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

(Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)

A real-life Rocky story takes place at UFC 301.

It's not every day we see a relatively unknown fighter challenge for the world title, but that's just the case for Western Australia's Steve Erceg, who is coming from 'down under' for what could be the biggest upset of the year. The promotional newcomer enters enemy territory when he takes on Brazil's UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja in Rio de Janeiro.

Erceg has been in the UFC for less than a year, but he's already ranked #10 in the flyweight division after a trio of wins inside the Octagon, including a KO win over Matt Schnell at UFC Vegas 87 in March.

How exactly did 'Astroboy' fly high into a UFC title fight? Well, that's thanks to the champ Pantoja, who specifically asked the UFC for a fight with the dark horse contender similar to how Apollo Creed picked "The Italian Stallion" Rocky Balboa to be his next opponent in the original "Rocky" movie, which came out in 1976.

READ MORE: UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja Reveals How ‘Unknown’ Steve Erceg Got Flyweight Title Shot

"I beat everyone in the division so I'm going to do like Apollo Creed did with Rocky Balboa. I'm going to give [Erceg] a chance to fight for the belt," Pantoja said during a UFC 301 promo.

Upcoming title challenger Erceg had his wits about him in his response: "I don't know if he watched the movie but Apollo Creed loses."

As it turns out, Pantoja is a massive fan of Sylvester Stallone's Rocky franchise, and the movies motivate him to keep moving forward during his UFC title reign. The fictional champ Creed does in fact lose to the underdog Rocky in a pivotal moment that Erceg looks to replicate. Still, Pantoja will remind him what happened in their first encounter and says their championship fight at UFC 301 won't share the same result.

"No, the first movie, Apollo win the fight," Pantoja told Fox Sports Australia. "That's a different history. I'm super fan of the Rocky movies. He's teaching me how to to live my life, how to be a good athlete. That's crazy because that's just a movie. Rocky never fight, will fight. But, he can talk with me. I have [fought] for 17 years and Rocky all the time speaks with me."

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While the matchup between Pantoja and Erceg might look like 'Rocky 1' on paper, the Brazilian champion draws inspiration from 'Rocky 3' as he enters another title defense against the hungry Erceg. However, Alexandre Pantoja knows this is his story and nobody else's.

"Right now, I remember Rocky 3 when Rocky is a champion, he have a big challenger with Clubber Lang. All the movies about Rocky, he give me something. But this is a movie that, Apollo's story and Rocky's story and I make my own own history," Pantoja added. "I talk about my life, you can make a movie with my life. You need a book. You need a book because it's so many details, making me champion and I make my own movie. I make my own book. I make my own history. I guess, it's gonna be just a [new] chapter."

We'll see how the flyweight champion's story unfolds when he faces off with #10 contender Steve Erceg this Saturday at UFC 301, live on pay-per-view.

READ MORE: UFC 301: Steve Erceg Reacts to Title Shot, Names Potential Fights After Pantoja

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