Who is Steve Erceg? Story behind 'Astro Boy' nickname and 4 other things you didn't know about the UFC flyweight contender
Steve Erceg is hailed as a truly well-rounded MMA fighter and a fierce competitor in the talent-stacked UFC flyweight division. 'Astro Boy' is coming off a five-round war that ended in a unanimous decision defeat for him against UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 (May 4, 2024).
Erceg's striking in the title showdown particularly earned him widespread praise. The 29-year-old Australian is scheduled to make his highly-anticipated return against New Zealand's Kai Kara-France. Their flyweight bout co-headlines UFC 305 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Aug. 17, 2024 (Aug. 18 local time in Australia).
Who is Steve Erceg?
Speaking to the Australia-based Eternal MMA organization in 2021, Steve Erceg (Stephen Vincenzo Erceg) highlighted his close bonds with his father Matthew Erceg aka Matt Erceg and MMA coach David Wilkes.
Besides, Steve's mother Loretta Erceg and father Matt Erceg (who also serves as Steve's coach) notably appeared on the UFC 301 Countdown episode. An oft-overlooked, albeit interesting fact about Steve, is that he once had to fight his father to prove that he's tough enough to become a professional fighter. Steve stated:
"When I decided I wanted to start competing, I had talked to my dad first. And his first reaction was, 'I don't think you're tough enough to start fighting.' So, he said, 'Alright. What we'll do -- we'll go in the backyard, we'll have a fight, and we'll see what happens from there. So, me and my dad had a little scrap in the backyard ... And at the end of it, he came away going, 'Alright. Yep. You can have your first fight.'"
Check out Erceg's comments below (11:30):
In the aforementioned Countdown episode and another interview with the UFC, Erceg revealed that the first fight between WWE icon Brock Lesnar and UFC legend Frank Mir piqued his interest in MMA and Jiu-Jitsu. The Perth-born fighter was an ardent WWE fan growing up and was surprised to see the hulking Lesnar lose to Mir via first-round submission at UFC 81 (Feb. 2008).
As a relatively smaller individual, it aroused his curiosity about how a smaller fighter defeated a larger fighter. Although Lesnar later knocked Mir out in their rematch at UFC 100 (July 2009), their first fight was enough to make Erceg embark on an MMA journey.
Another aspect of this criminally underappreciated fighter is his top-notch grappling prowess. His amazing striking skills were on full display at UFC 301, which sort of overshadowed the fact that Steve Erceg possesses a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Speaking to the UFC, he'd pointed out that his favorite grappling technique was the guillotine. In addition, the well-rounded combatant named leg kicks his favorite striking technique. Erceg expressed his appreciation for ferocious leg kick savants like Jose Aldo and Thiago Alves.
During his aforementioned UFC interview, Steve Erceg credited his coach's ex-girlfriend for coming up with his sobriquet, 'Astro Boy.' Apparently, Erceg had initially proposed 'Wonderboy' would be a great nickname, citing UFC welterweight and his namesake Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson.
Regardless, the woman instead suggested 'Astro Boy' as the better moniker, noting that he bore a resemblance to the iconic manga character 'Astro Boy.' The nickname eventually caught on among Erceg's teammates. He speculated that one of his old cornerpersons probably wrote it down on his fighter card, and it eventually became a part of his brand.
Furthermore, Steve Erceg boasts an excellent sense of humor. After being booked to fight for UFC gold a few months ago, he was thrust into the spotlight. Soon thereafter, he faced a wave of memes, with many comparing him to Hollywood actor Steve Carell's character 'Michael Scott' from the hit American sitcom 'The Office.'
Speaking to James Lynch for Sportskeeda MMA, Erceg acknowledged the comparisons. He noted that he's been called a lookalike of NFL star Aaron Rodgers, tennis legend Novak Djokovic, Japanese manga character 'Astro Boy,' and more. Lynch opined that the UFC flyweight is pretty sporting about the comparisons and doesn't seem offended.
Erceg responded with a bit of deadpan humor and jestingly stated that the lookalike comparisons infuriated him.
Check out Steve Erceg's hilarious deadpan humor below (14:09):