Erceg and damage over Pantoja and stall time

[Sad Dad]

I don't often say this, but in no world did pantoja win this fight. guy had zero big moments and got battered from 2-5. A robbery the kid showed he was the superior fighter tonight. judges need to be reminded that damage is gold and the old scoring is dead.

 

[LouDee16]

Pantoja won the belt by getting his ass kicked and now defended by getting his ass kicked.. takedowns with zero ground and pound and zero sub attempts should get you absolutely nothing on the scorecards...

 

[LouDee16]

Or ground strikes. Pantoja had 8:15 of control time and landed 29 strikes. Less than 4 strikes for every 1 minute of control time. And many of those were weak knees after failed TD attempts.

Lastly, Erceg actually landed more strikes per 1 minute of control time than Pantoja did.

he had 5 minutes and something .. not 8 minutes.. they showed it after the fight before the scorecards.. it was maybe 5:14

 

[World eater]

Yep, we all wanted Steve to win. Oh well, there will most likely be another chance at the belt if he keeps up with the good work.

 

[Meatspin]

Erceg didn't make a cunt of himself so glad as an Aussie. Better luck next time.

 

[RockyLockridge]

49-46 Pantoja, one big Elbow ain't winning you a round.

I actually think erceg did more damage in every round but round 1.

 

[checktheknuckles]

They say damage is the top criteria but it seems like the judges love some crotch sniffers who do no damage.

 

[RonDante]

Watching it live I thought maybe pantoja did enough in the 5th to steal a close round but I rewatched it and I don’t know any more. He never even had erceg in a dangerous position when he got his back, and erceg did land more, I don’t know how the stats say pantoja landed more

A cut is definitely worth more than taking someone’s back and not even threatening submissions. And I hope you all realise that grabbing onto someone against the fence is counted in the control time stat, which would he considered fighting area control, not effective grappling

 

[biscuitsbrah]

I had it 3-2 Erceg but ain’t even mad at Pantoja winning. Some of the rounds were close, and calling it a robbery shows you don’t understand the sport

 

[SaltedVinegarfootstomps]

49-46 Pantoja, one big Elbow ain't winning you a round.

The elbow that *GASP* CUT HIM!!!!!! Like elbows do no less. Nevermind the fact that Pantoja ate it without issue and never so much as buckled a leg. People act as if Steve was dropping him all night and he lay and prayed to survive. I saw an over-sized dude for the division sort of use his range properly against a smaller psychopath that was quite literally running into his opponents punches.

 

[JoeRowe]

49-46 Pantoja, one big Elbow ain't winning you a round.

It would've if he dropped Pantoja, round 3 that is. But he didn't even wobble him, let alone drop him.

Pantoja out scrambled Steve but didn't do any damage at all.

Easily won 2,3 and 4.

He beat the shit out of Erceg. His punches were landing wide on the jaw & temple mostly so it didn't leave blood. He also landed way more body shots & calf kicks. Outlanded Erceg easily in round 3 while never being hurt himself. Cool elbow tho.

 

[DjolexMTL]

Erceg cost himself the fight shooting for takedowns in the 5th and getting reversed. It's his fault.

Dumb argument, he was already up 3-1 before the fifth

 

[linvillegorge]

Dumb argument, he was already up 3-1 before the fifth

Before you're going to accuse someone else of a dumb argument, maybe next time ensure you're not the one making the dumb argument.

 

[DjolexMTL]

Before you're going to accuse someone else of a dumb argument, maybe next time ensure you're not the one making the dumb argument.

Sick comeback my man

 

[Bradillac]

We got another paper champ.. Pantoja is awful and was gifted the belt.

 

[SaltedVinegarfootstomps]

We got another paper champ.. Pantoja is awful and was gifted the belt.

You aren't a paper champ if you defend the belt lol.

 

[Bradillac]

You aren't a paper champ if you defend the belt lol.

You’re a paper champ when you’re gifted the belt.. We have a guy who just got his ass beat holding on to the belt and making a joke of the division.

 

[jeff7b9]

Erceg won.
Pantoja prayed for favoritism and got it from the judges.

It did feel like if you were going to beat a brazillian it would have to be by stoppage
The whole night was very clearly a hometown showcase set up to try to yield Brazilian wins.

 

[SaltedVinegarfootstomps]

You’re a paper champ when you’re gifted the belt.. We have a guy who just got his ass beat holding on to the belt and making a joke of the division.

I mean, there is so much to unpack here. The division being a joke is more a reflection of its shallowness than anything Pantoja has done. Let's assume he was gifted the belt originally, he has still defended multiple times against the best his weight class has to offer......which is the exact opposite of what a paper champ would be doing.

 

[linvillegorge]

I really don't understand people being upset about the decision or shitting on Pantoja. It's 100% on Erceg. There were two 48-47 cards. He literally lost the fight because he idiotically shot for takedowns on a much better grappler when he was handily winning the standup. If he doesn't get reversed and controlled on the mat in the 5th he's the champ today. That's his fault.

Maybe his corner deserves some blame too
They were adamant he needed a finish when I honestly thought it was 2-2 going into the 5th (and two judges agreed). Now, Brazilian fighters have a history of getting some very friendly decisions in Brazil so I honestly understand the sentiment. But Erceg has hit Pantoja with everything but the kitchen sink in that fight and hadn't even been able to get him in trouble yet. He may have been thinking that his best bet to get a finish was on the mat because Pantoja was eating everything he hit him with like a snack.

All I know is that at the end of the day if Erceg has maintained the distance and focused on striking in the 5th he likely walks away with the belt on a split decision.