Bragging rights: Pantoja vs Erceg - Who wins and how?

[OleBuffalo]

We’ve not got to see enough of Erceg of course, so it’s hard to have any real conviction about him. We know Pantoja is a dog and has great grappling but a recklessness on the feet at times plus what seems like a desire to entertain vs just win which seems like it could give Erceg opportunity to have some big moments.

We know Erceg has great technique on the feet plus what seems like good hips for wrestling and the ability to get off his back and end up in top position (at least against the level of competition he’s faced so far….) No clue about if he has that dawg in him, so I’m going on blind faith that he’s gonna be game enough to not break if it gets sloppy.

I’m also just kinda blindly assuming Erceg is gonna be able to handle himself in the grappling exchanges and not get dominated, but I think it’ll come down to whether Pantoja’s great back-take works like usual or if Erceg can thwart it enough to 1) not get subbed and 2) not lose rounds w pantoja on his back. Loooots of significant assumptions lol

No real clue, but thinking Erceg and am prepared to feel dumb if he gets ran through

 

[Spath]

Pantoja by sub seems to be the way to go. He has a superb chin and is a very good grappler. Erceg has great hands, but I doubt he can finish Pantoja standing and will have a lot of problems on the ground. He can obviously get whacked on the feet, too, as Pantoja can crack. Maybe a club and sub type of thing.

Anyway, Pantoja sub rd 3.

 

[Oz.Pride]

Erceg is gonna jab the shit out of Pantoja and turn him into a panic grappler, then he's gonna reverse him and smoke him on the ground.

After a couple of rounds of this, Pantoja will get reckless and try crazy shit on the feet, get countered and dropped Erceg will follow him down and pound him out.

It might take a while because he's tough AF, but before the end of round 3 Erceg will have shocked the very small percentage of the world who will watch this.

Winner by TKO annnnd NEW


Erceg the s nasty on the ground. People don't know

 

[SalvadorAllende]

I have Pantoja by sub but Erceg seems to pack a good punch.

Anyways.. I think Pantoja cements his legacy even more here.. dude is very good and thanks to him for getting rid of Moreno

 

[tgo007]

Skill Wise I think erceg is amazing. Except for staying in the pocket and coin flipping. Even if the coin flip is in his favor because of technique. 60/40 even if it's 70/30 it's too risky because he has the talent to win without getting hit hard. But he wants to do it. He's lucky costa is stupid because costa should have won that fight. Costa took that fight on short notice and kept going for subs. erceg gets hit hard most of his fights. Kids got a chin. He does pull away move that's dumb AF.

Height and reach is good for fighting but it scales with weight class because of power. So it's least important at flyweight compared to hw, Lhw, mw etc etc.

He doesn't appear to be an outlier in athleticism.

Guys like Izzy, O'Malley, poatan, Jones, Anderson, gsp, Conor.

They're all long for the weight class but incredibly fast and strong still.

Lanky tall guys are less athletic unless you're an outlier.

Erceg is like a 10 in technique and fight iq if he stopped fighting in the pocket and no more pulling away your face. But he's like a 5 in athleticism.

 

[Kenny Powerth]

Pantoja by decision 49-45

Erceg steals one or two early Pantoja makes it ugly late

 

[linvillegorge]

I'd definitely have to pick Pantoja. Maybe Erceg is very legit but this is just such a huge step up in competition. That it's impossible to project how he's going to do both with the huge step up in completion and the huge step up in the profile of the fight and the pressure of the situation.

 

[Lights Out 101]

Erceg via points

 

[Kryptt]

Don't care bout Bragging Rights but feeling Pantoja by Decision possibly Sub. May change to Sub as the day ebbs by.

Long as the fight is a good one, I'll be pleased.

 

[CrimsonFan]

I think Pantoja is able to easily score takedowns here and instead of standing he will be taking Erceg down every round. With some striking exchanges in-between. Probably scoring a submission in the third or fourth round

So I voted Pantoja via sub

However, he has shown some cardio issues. For a flyweight he doesn't have the best 5 round cardio.. also Erceg could show up with great TDD and make it more of a pick em fight. But I feel fairly confident Pantoja will win here.

 

[Kwic]

Pantoja via soobmeeshon to keep the beltch.

 

[Psychojoe86]

I definitely considered siding with an Erceg ko. However, ultimately I believe Pantoja will simply sub him in round 1. Its just too big a jump in competition for Erceg right now.

 

[filthybliss]

pantoja should win but i wouldn't cry if erceg snags it. he looks identical to a cousin of mine

 

[sonhow]

Pantoja by ud

Exciting at first but kinda boring late.

Hopefully its a wrong prediction

 

[SuperNerd]

I'm excited for Erceg, so Pantoja by sub

 

[flektarn]

PANTOJA LETS FUCKIN GO

 

[Doughie99]

Pantoja by sub, Rd.3, at 2m18secs, RNC.

 

[Momentosis]

Erceg winning would bring some new life into the division with Pantoja being 9-0 against the top 10. lol

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Pantoja by some crazy split decision.. setting up the rematch at The Sphere

 

[Pequeño Corey]

Vincenzo Erceg catches him late, proving that best buy is the best base for MMA