The UFC returned to Brazil and Alexandre Pantoja made sure to cap the event on a high note in front of his hometown fans.
Pantoja delivered a unanimous decision victory to retain his flyweight world championship in a gritty performance against Steve Erceg in the headliner of UFC 301 on Saturday night. Judges inside the Farmasi Arena in Pantoja's hometown of Rio de Janeiro scored it 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 all for the champion.
His nine takedowns and 8:15 of control time helped power Pantoja's way to victory, as he was also able to use his experience edge to capitalize on Erceg's mistakes, despite an overall impressive showing from the challenger.
When Erceg inexplicably shot for a takedown in the fifth round, Pantoja quickly produced one of his best takedowns of the fight, proceeding to threaten for a submission attempt, while unleashing some nasty ground and pound as well.
Though Pantoja set the tone early with his takedowns, he had to fight through Erceg's measured striking, particularly slashing elbows that seemed to land at opportune times. The pointed offense opened a nasty gash from the champion's forehead though he ate the punishment and worked toward victory with a nonstop motor resulting in the nearly 10 takedowns.
"My grappling is the best there is," Pantoja told Daniel Cormier in the Octagon after improving to 28-5 and extending his winning streak to six.
Erceg had his 11-fight win streak snapped with the loss.
"I thought if I could win the last round, I'd at least give myself a chance and ... I just blew it," he said.
Here's how the entire UFC 301 pay-per-view main card went.