Professional wrestling and mixed martial arts have always had some crossover. Because of that, Eternal MMA has a very talented flyweight champion who got started because he was a Brock Lesnar fan. So yep, a 125-pound fighter started fighting because a 265-pound ex-pro wrestler started fighting in MMA.
“I started training after Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir I. I was a big WWE fan when I was younger, and the way they promoted his entrance into the cage was awesome. ‘We had to make bigger gloves for him like XL wasn’t big enough’ just the way they brought it up was so cool. I was like, I don’t know anyone is going to beat this guy; he’s cutting to make 265. The other guy is 240; there is no way he gets beat. And then, sure enough, he gets to the fight and starts molly whopping this dude, and I’m thinking, wow, this is so cool. Then the small guy grabs his leg, and Brock Lesnar has to tap. I didn’t know what happened, but I need to learn what that little guy did.”
That was Steve “AstroBoy” Erceg, the current Eternal MMA flyweight champion telling Cageside Press that it was Frank Mir beating Lesnar that got him to start training.
Erceg (8-1) is one of the best flyweight prospects outside of the UFC at the moment. He defended his flyweight belt in his most recent outing against Paul Loga, and four months prior, he went to war with young stud Cody Haddon on short notice. (If you have not seen that fight, seek it out on UFC Fight Pass.)
The UFC is the next stop for “AstroBoy,” and he hopes to be in the organization this year, whether it be straight away or through Dana White’s Contender Series.
“I definitely want to fight in the UFC. That is where I think the best talent is, and if you want to be the best in the world, that’s where you go. So I want to go to the UFC for sure,” Erceg said.” I prefer to go straight to the UFC just because you know you have the contract, and you can start your journey straight away. But that being said, if it is the Contender Series first, I’m happy for that too. It is a great platform, and people get to know you before you get to the UFC.”
“Yeah, so, obviously, I prefer to get the contract straight away, but I’ll be happy with the Contender Series.”
The grappling ace has five submission finishes in his eight wins and four first-round finishes. Get to know Erceg because he is coming.
Watch the rest of our interview with Eternal MMA’s Steve Erceg’s above.
