Rising UFC star Steve Erceg has opened up on the "blunder" that cost him the flyweight belt, but says anyone who thinks he sucks can tell it to his face - in the cage.
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Erceg's battle with undisputed flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja in Brazil on Sunday was in the balance after four rounds.
Up until that point, Erceg had controlled the bout when it was on the feet, but Pantoja had the edge when it came to grappling.
Erceg entered the fifth and final round thinking he needed to finish Pantoja in order to be crowned the winner.
In reality, Erceg just needed to win the fifth round on points to come out victorious.
Erceg's decision to twice go for a take-down in the fifth round proved to be his undoing, with Pantoja able to take advantage of the situation to ground out the victory.
The judges scored the bout 48-47, 48-47, 49-46.
"Obviously hindsight is 20/20," Erceg told AAP on Monday.
"I was winning on the feet. But I thought if I gave him the opportunity to shoot first (with a takedown), that could lose me the fight too.
"So I thought I would shoot first, and because he's tired I thought he'll scramble slower and I'll be able to stay on top.
"But obviously it didn't work out that way and it ended up losing me the fight, so that's what I meant by blowing it."
Sunday's bout was only Erceg's fourth in the UFC arena.
And despite being shattered by the loss, Erceg says the performance at least proved that deserves to be "right there with the big dogs".
But the 28-year-old is also well aware of the critics.
"Sure people are going to have lots of trash to say about my wrestling or my IQ," Erceg said.
"But if they have something to say and if they think I suck, well you know where to find me - in the cage.
"I mean, anybody analysing the fight has had a very similar view to me - I lost the fight, not he won the fight.
"There's a lot of analysts who I respect their opinion who have come out and said exactly that - I made a big blunder.
"It's obviously not easy to hear, but it's what I need to hear."
Erceg is keen to return to the cage for UFC 305 in his hometown of Perth on August 18.
The West Australian needed just three UFC wins before earning his first crack at the flyweight belt, but he knows his next title bout might not come around as quickly.
"It could take me three fights to get back there, it could be eight fights. You never really know," he said.
As for the next fight on his wish list?
Erceg is keen to keep fighting the elite, listing No.1-ranked challenger Brandon Royval, No.5-ranked Alex Perez, and No.6-ranked Muhammad Mokaev as possibilities.
Australian Associated Press
