Steven Erceg is back in the win column for the first time in over a year with a decision victory against Ode Osbourne in the UFC Vegas 109 co-main event.
The victory didn’t come easy with Erceg suffering a knockdown in the opening round after Osbourne blasted him with a staggering right hand. Erceg eventually recovered and turned to his grappling, which allowed him to negate Osbourne’s speed and power by taking the fight to the ground.
In the end, all three judges scored the fight 29-28 with Erceg getting the nod and stopping his three-fight losing streak.
“I had his back in the second. The striking was close in the second,” Erceg said while admitting he was confident in the win. “I wanted to make a statement about how tough I am. I knew that he’s very explosive. I thought I’d get him down easier to be honest.”
Osbourne showed off his speed and power early with a couple of stiff shots landed as they exchanged punches on the feet. Every time Erceg stepped forward, Osbourne was ready with a lightning quick counter with a perfectly timed right hand that was consistently landing on target.
The same check hook blasted Erceg midway through the round and the one-time title challenger was immediately wobbled as he stumbled to the canvas, which forced him to look for a takedown to stay alive in the fight. A scramble ensued and Erceg was eventually able to take the back where he locked on a body triangle but Osbourne was able to reverse out of the bad position.
Erceg didn’t wait nearly as long to look for the takedown in the second round but Osbourne defended well as the fighters jockeyed for position against the cage. Osbourne consistently found a way to break free and reset in the center of the cage but he wasn’t unleashing his strikes with as much fluidity as he was earlier in the fight.
With five minutes remaining, Osbourne opened with another fast, hard right hand that snapped Erceg’s head back. Erceg fired back but then got in low for a quick takedown that put Osbourne on the ground.
From there, Erceg advanced his position to take the mount and then eventually onto the back where he started peppering away with punches while looking for submissions. Osbourne eventually powered his way out but he didn’t get away from Erceg’s grip, which led to another takedown before time eventually expired.
While the early struggles wasn’t how Erceg had it all mapped out, he still got the win and staved off a potential four-fight losing streak. Now he’s back on track with hopes of building on this win from Saturday night.
