Sorry UFC 312, A Former Title Challenger Will NOT Be Fighting In His Home Country (Because He’s Stuck At The APEX)

“AstroBoy” Isn’t Going “Down Under”

Today (Thurs., Jan. 2, 2024), MMAMania.com confirmed with multiple sources that former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg will fight No. 8 ranked Asu Almabayev on March 1, 2025, at UFC Vegas 103, which will take place in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada … and not UFC 312 in Australia.

VestnikMMA was the first to report the news.

Unfortunately, the poor Australian fans will be without another prominent Australian fighter for UFC 312, which is very confusing as Alexander Volkanoski, Robert Whittaker, Jack Della Maddalena, and Tai Tuivasa will all not be competing on the second UFC pay-per-view (PPV) of 2025.

(watch highlights).

Prior to UFC 305, “AstroBoy” fought Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 for the Flyweight title but ended up losing a close unanimous decision.

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Almabayev (21-2) is 4-0 in UFC and is riding a 17-fight win streak. The 30-year-old No. 8 ranked Flyweight went 3-0 in 2024 with wins over Jose Johnson, CJ Vergara, and most recently Matheus Nicolau.

With a win over a former title challenger, Almabayev could boost himself into title contention, especially with the division needing worthy challengers.

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