Steven Erceg is again within the win column for the primary time in over a 12 months with a call victory towards Ode Osbourne within the UFC Vegas 109 co-main occasion.
The victory didn’t come simple with Erceg struggling a knockdown within the opening spherical after Osbourne blasted him with a staggering proper hand. Erceg finally recovered and turned to his grappling, which allowed him to negate Osbourne’s velocity and energy by taking the battle to the bottom.
Ultimately, all three judges scored the battle 29-28 with Erceg getting the nod and stopping his three-fight shedding streak.
“I had his again within the second. The hanging was shut within the second,” Erceg mentioned whereas admitting he was assured within the win. “I needed to make a press release about how robust I’m. I knew that he’s very explosive. I assumed I’d get him down simpler to be trustworthy.”
Osbourne confirmed off his velocity and energy early with a few stiff photographs landed as they exchanged punches on the ft. Each time Erceg stepped ahead, Osbourne was prepared with a lightning fast counter with a superbly timed proper hand that was constantly touchdown on course.
The identical verify hook blasted Erceg halfway by means of the spherical and the one-time title challenger was instantly wobbled as he stumbled to the canvas, which pressured him to search for a takedown to remain alive within the battle. A scramble ensued and Erceg was finally in a position to take the again the place he locked on a physique triangle however Osbourne was in a position to reverse out of the dangerous place.
Erceg didn’t wait almost as lengthy to search for the takedown within the second spherical however Osbourne defended properly because the fighters jockeyed for place towards the cage. Osbourne constantly discovered a technique to break away and reset within the middle of the cage however he wasn’t unleashing his strikes with as a lot fluidity as he was earlier within the battle.
With 5 minutes remaining, Osbourne opened with one other quick, onerous proper hand that snapped Erceg’s head again. Erceg fired again however then acquired in low for a fast takedown that put Osbourne on the bottom.
From there, Erceg superior his place to take the mount after which finally onto the again the place he began peppering away with punches whereas searching for submissions. Osbourne finally powered his approach out however he didn’t get away from Erceg’s grip, which led to a different takedown earlier than time finally expired.
Whereas the early struggles wasn’t how Erceg had all of it mapped out, he nonetheless acquired the win and staved off a possible four-fight shedding streak. Now he’s again on monitor with hopes of constructing on this win from Saturday night time.
