‘You’re going to die’ taunt no drama for Erceg
Steve Erceg has laughed off the death threats he knows will be sent his way this weekend, instead saying he welcomes the hostility from the passionate Brazilian crowd in Rio de Janeiro.
Erceg will step into the dragon’s den when he faces hometown hero Alexandre Pantoja in Farmasi Arena in Rio at UFC 301 this weekend.
When he makes the walk to the Octagon, Erceg will undoubtedly become the latest foreign fighter to be hit with the infamous “tu vai morrer” chants from the crowd.
Roughly translated into English, that taunt means, “you’re going to die” and has become a tradition for Brazilian crowds to hurl out.
Erceg isn’t concerned though.
“I’ve thought about that plenty and honestly, I’m excited to experience it,” he told this masthead from behind enemy lines in Rio. “You get to see other people go through it for a long time.
“I’ve watched plenty of UFC events and to have it happen to me, it’s a very cool experience actually.
“I can’t wait.”
Rio will be on another level, but Erceg says the most hostile reaction he’s received in his professional career to date was, funnily enough, in his hometown of Perth in 2021.
“I fought Cody Haddon and the crowd would’ve been about 50-50,” he said. “All the Cody Haddon fans were yelling ridiculous abuse – they were very loud.
“I remember our first grappling exchange and people were yelling, well, I won’t say the word, but they were yelling all these expletives at me when I was in the corner.
“I was like, ‘what, the fight’s just started, relax!’
“I knew what I was getting into, and all my supporters were yelling loudly too, but I don’t think they were as abusive.
“That was probably the loudest and most abusive crowd I’ve had, but in Queensland against Shannon Ross, that would’ve been up there too.”
Although confident in his abilities, Erceg won’t be following in Conor McGregor or Colby Covington’s footsteps of antagonising the Brazilian crowd.
Wearing a Botafogo football jersey – the rival team of Pantoja’s club – is about as far as he’ll go.