Erceg (12-4) was in need of a victory over Osbourne at the APEX to snap a three-fight skid. Losses to Brandon Moreno, Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara-France are nothing to scoff at, but it still put Erceg with his back against the wall.

Osbourne (13-8) accepted the bout on short-notice when Hyun Sung Park withdrew to face Tatsuro Taira at UFC Vegas 108. He was fresh off snapping his own three-fight losing streak when he beat Luis Gurule in April.

Round 1 Osbourne took the middle of the octagon with Erceg working on the outside. Leg kicks for Osbourne, Erceg worked straight right hands. Erceg got in close to land a left hand and Osbourne landed a heavy 1-2 making him think twice about it.

Erceg would try to get into range and Osbourne’s speed caused him a ton of issues as he got cracked a few times. He finally opted to shoot for takedowns, didn’t get it, but it’s a good change of pace and a different look.

A nasty counter left hook landed for Osbourne that rocked Erceg and forced him to shoot the single leg. Erceg wasn’t able to get it and Osbourne got his own takedown and took Erceg’s back quick. Erceg was able to get back up, get his own takedown and he took Osbourne’s back with about 45 seconds left in the round. Erceg got back to his feet as the round ended.

Round 2 Erceg took the middle, but he was eating the side kick to the lead leg again. Erceg shot the single leg again taking Osbourne to the fence. Erceg got away and back to the middle of the octagon.

Erceg began putting his hands together by using timing instead of speed. He landed a right hand then shot in for a takedown getting taken to the fence. Osbourne turned Erceg and pushed him off landing a body kick on the break.

Osbourne was clearly stronger than Erceg at 135 pounds.

Round 3 Osbourne got back to putting pressure on Erceg landing a nice left hand on him. Erceg responded with a well-time head kick. Erceg began faking single legs to give Osbourne something to think about. He’d fake then fire up top because Osbourne was reacting to the fakes.

Erceg shot in and Osbourne was just a second too slow and got taken down. Erceg took side control with his left leg stuck in half. He put pressure with his shoulder on the chin and neck of Osbourne’s.

Osbourne tried to force a scramble, did but Erceg grabbed the front head lock, got the trip and took dominant position again with less than 30 seconds left.

The fight ended with Erceg in full mount landing two punches.

Erceg took the victory via unanimous decision snapping that three-fight losing streak and possibly starting his road back to a title shot.

Official Result: Steve Erceg def. Ode Osbourne via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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An Ultimate Fighter alum and former Invicta FC champ, Hill was a 27-fight UFC veteran (soon to be 28) coming in off a win over Ketlen Souza. Brazil’s Lucindo had seen a four-fight win streak snapped in her last bout, by Amanda Lemos.

After a bit of striking the pair clinched up 30 seconds in, which allowed Lucindo to demonstrate her strength. Hill made her way to the fence, but was dragged down anyway; to her credit, “Overkill” was right back to her feet, fighting hands and trying to get off the fence. Another scramble, off a trip, saw Hill take control with a headlock, short-lived as the sequence was. They then went back to trading, before Hill changed levels, grabbed a leg, thinking takedown but bailing on the attempt after a moment.

The next exchange saw Lucindo fire a couple of hooks, with decent power behind them. Hill fired a kick up the middle in addition to getting her hands going, but it was Lucindo with more behind her punches. Hill would clinch up before the bell to end the frame but it was Lucindo dragging her down in the end.

Round two started scrappy, Lucindo and Hill trading blows, the Brazilian again landing the harder shots. Hill, however, managed to land a solid kick that sent Lucindo reeling. When they came together in a clinch, Hill jumped on Lucindo, forcing her to carry her weight for a moment. Lucindo, undeterred, was back putting the pressure on moments later. Another busy round, with Lucindo holding the edge in the heavy hands department, Hill in overall activity.

Hill was able to dump Lucindo early in the third, but they were right back up. And when Hill fanned on a spinning back fist, it was the Brazilian landing her own takedown. Lucindo went right into side control, then found herself in half-guard. From there, Lucindo looked to pass into mount, through Hill had her leg hooked. Still, Hill was nowhere near escaping, with time ticking away. A standup was a possibility, with the ref ordering Lucindo to stay busy, though she hadn’t exactly been stalling. Lucindo hit the body a few times, and made it to mount, with Hill giving up her back, just before the horn.

Official Result: Iasmin Lucindo def. Angela Hill by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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Walker (6-1) took on a veteran Alonzo Menifield in February on short-notice and came up short by split-decision. Looking at the silver lining he took on a very experienced fighter and barely lost. One could consider his fight with Cerqueria his real UFC debut.

Cerqueria (11-2) dropped his first two UFC bout losing to Ibo Aslan and Modestas Bukauskas. Still he wasn’t one to walk away from a challenge and he took on the young Walker at the UFC APEX.

Round 1 – Cerqueria came out with a leg kick and Walker came at him with a flurry to which Cerqueria landed a nasty 1-2 in return. Getting after it early in the fight Cerqueria went in for the clinch, Walker turned him and landed knees to the body.

Cerqueria got off the fence and got back to it with Walker. Walker shot in for a takedown, got it, and took his back pretty quick with just under 3 minutes left in the round.

He did get back to his feet for a moment, but Walker was already setting the mat return up and got it. Cerqueria went to his back to defend the rear naked choke, Walker got the kimura grip, but was too close to the fence to finish it.

Back to the feet and Cerqueria went to his own takedown attempt off the rip and instead got taken down again.

Round 2 – Cerqueria got a bit too aggressive and Walker used a leg kick to take him down quick. Walker was on top in full guard with barely 25 seconds off the clock in the round. Not a great start to round 2 for Cerqueria.

Cerqueria got his back on the fence to try and wall walk, but Walker was active landing shots on him. Cerqueria got back to his feet and they got back to striking, but Walker landed a big left hand and scored another takedown.

Round 3 Cerqueria hurt Walker so bad that Walker shot in for multiple takedowns and got stuffed. Suddenly Walker landed a shot on Cerqueria that hurt him. The two brawled for another minute with Walker looking done and Cerqueria gassing himself out to finish the fight.

Finally Walker got him down and began controlling the position again. That was it for the rest of the fight that went to the judges.

After a wild three rounds Walker walked away with a hard-earned decision victory and a whole lot of experience to learn from.

Official Result: Julius Walker def. Rafael Cerqueria via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-28)

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Medic (10-3) lost to Punahele Soriano in January at his first fight of 2025. He’s had a very up-and-down career trading wins and losses in his last 4. A win over Urbina would get him the momentum to try and get a win streak going in the UFC.

Urbina (7-3) was knocked out by Charles Radtke in February. The 29-year-old hasn’t had the most successful UFC run so far, but he hoped to turn that around against Medic at the APEX.

Round 1 Urbina dropped Medic off the bat with a big shot which Medic was able to recover from rather quickly. Urbina didn’t take the foot off the gas until Medic scored a big shot of his own to end Urbina’s night very early.

It’s a hell of a way for Medic to get back into the win column. Seems like every time he fights he gets dropped or hurt early and he’s constantly forced to deal with adversity and come back.

Ladies and gentlemen, the doctor is in.

Official Result: Uros Medic def. Gilbert Urbina via R1 KO, 1:03

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If by ‘locked and loaded’ you mean a diaper bag, baby toys, and his infant son.

“I moved to Vegas about a year-and-a-half ago so I get to be a dad during fight week. It’s good for the soul,” Fili told reporters on Wednesday.

“I get to wake up in my own bed, make breakfast with my wife and son, and yeah it’s been amazing.”

Fili (24-12) sees fatherhood as a super power. Having a family to provide for and a son to raise has put his fighting career into perspective. No longer is life all about fighting, if anything, life is about the balancing act between fighter and father.

“It’s like a superpower man, you know? I feel like I wish I did this 10 years ago it’s crazy. The drive, the motivation and just the gratitude of these little moments. One day we’ll be able to look back at this picture. There’s just a lot of cool moments this week,” he said.

“Huge motivating factor for me. It’s the first time in my life that something’s cooler than fighting. My whole life since I was 14, that’s 20 years, since I first saw the UFC. Fighting’s been the coolest thing in the world to me, and now it’s the second coolest thing and he’s the first.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Andre Fili above. He takes on Christian Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 109 on Saturday night.

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“Bantamweight fight so I’m happy I get to eat some food and yeah it’s going to be fun,” Erceg told reporters on Wednesday.

Erceg (12-4) was supposed to face Hyun Sung Park on Saturday, but Park was pulled to face Tatsuro Taira a week earlier at UFC Vegas 108. A few days later Osbourne stepped in to face Erceg.

“Honestly I’m so used to having canceled and switched opponents. It doesn’t even faze me. I’m training. Throw a name at me and I’ll be there,” he said.

The opponent switch may not be ideal however as Erceg comes into the fight on a three-fight losing skid. Still one must consider that those losses came at the hands of Brandon Moreno, Kai Kara-France and current flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja.

“I think a win is just very important. Despite the quality of opponents or whatever a loss is a loss,” he said.

“I need to get back to winning form. Looking to come out here and put on a ‘ya’ll must have forgot’ type of performance.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Steve Erceg above. He takes on Ode Osbourne at UFC Vegas 109 on Saturday night.

The post Steve Erceg Not Bothered By Opponent Switch, “A win is very important” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Kicking off this UFC Vegas 109 edition of TTP is our interview with UFC light heavyweight, Julius Walker. Walker talks about the crazy whirlwind that was his UFC debut. From preparing to fight at heavyweight a week after, to speeding things up and getting down to light heavyweight. And if that wasn’t enough, he wound up with a big live crowd fight in Seattle on the main card, against a ranked opponent. After a close split decision and a fat performance bonus, Walker is preparing for a re-debut that’s a bit more suited for him. He has put in a full camp for his upcoming UFC Vegas 109 bout, and he gives us a breakdown of what we can expect.

Fights, Dogs and Parlays: UFC Vegas 109 (19:06)

After an action packe UFC Vegas 108, the UFC is staying in the Apex for one more before hitting the road. Middleweights Anthony Hernandez and Roman Dolidze try to take one more step towards title contention in the main event. And in the co-main, Steven Erceg looks to find his footing yet again when he welcomes Ode Osbourne to the octagon. We’ll break down those fights as well as some of our other favorite fights on the main card. Plus, as always, we’re hitting you with an underdog and a plus-money parlay that we think will make your wallet fat this weekend. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Niamh Kinehan Interview (27:25)

Closing out this UFC Vegas 109 edition of TTP is our interview with Oktagon bantamweight, Niamh Kinehan. After winning every title that can be won in muay thai, Kinehan has turned her sights to the MMA world. Oktagon has provided her with an opportunity for that debut this Saturday and she’s ready to show the world what she can do with four ounce gloves.

The post TTP Ep. 492: Julius Walker, Niamh Kinehan, and UFC Vegas 109 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The UFC announced the matchup on Sunday.

Erceg (12-4) will come into the UFC APEX on a 3-fight losing skid.  Losses to Alexandre Pantoja, Kai Kara-France and Brandon Moreno have Erceg in need of a win. None of those losses is anything to scoff at as two of those are against champions or former champs, and Kara-France is next to challenge for the belt.

Perez (25-9) has been in the UFC since 2019, and his resume reflects it. He challenged then champ Deiveson Figueiredo for the flyweight title in 2020 at UFC 255 which he lost. He then lost his next bout against now champion Alexandre Pantoja. His only win since 2020 came against Matheus Nicolau last April, but then lost his next fight against Tatsuro Taira.

UFC Vegas 109 takes place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 9. The card as of now looks as follows:

• Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez
• Steve Erceg vs. Alex Perez
• Eryk Anders vs. Christian Leroy Duncan
• Iasmin Lucindo vs. Angela Hill
• Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Joselyne Edwards
• Julius Walker vs. Raffael Cerqueria
• Gabriella Fernandes vs. Julija Stoliarenko

The post Steve Erceg vs. Alex Perez Set For UFC Vegas 109 appeared first on Cageside Press.