Steve Erceg looks for first UFC win in front of Perth crowd against Tim Elliott in May

UFC flyweight Steve Erceg says he wants to feel like “a gladiator in the Coliseum” after a win over Tim Elliott in front of his home crowd at RAC Arena on May 2. Erceg (13-4) will join fellow West Australians Jack Della Maddalena and Quillan Salkilld in getting the chance to compete in front of friends and family after being announced on the card of the massive fight night in Perth later this year. It will be the first time the 30-year-old has stepped into the octagon since he snapped a three-fight losing streak against Ode Osbourne in August, having taken time off to get married. Erceg is looking to rise back up the rankings and into the title picture once again, with a win over the No.11 ranked Elliott (21-1-13) part of his journey back. However, Erceg is also motivated to avenge his first-round knock-out defeat in his only other bout at RAC Arena in the UFC, which was against New Zealander Kai Kara-France in 2024. “It will make the after-party way better, last time it was pretty crappy to be honest,” he told The West Australian. “Getting a win in front of your home crowd, to hear the energy when you win would just be different. It’s not going to be the same as when Volk (Alexander Volkanovski) was in Sydney and he won against Diego Lopes but it’ll be something in the ballpark. “I want to feel like a gladiator in the Colosseum after a win and that’s what RAC Arena will be like.” Erceg said he’d learned he needed to be meaner to compete against the best in the world. “I sat back and looked at how I was fighting, mentally how I was approaching fight and what I thought I was doing compared to what I was actually doing,” he said. “Basically, I didn’t like the fact that I didn’t feel like I was fighting, I was competing. And I think we’re in the hurt business for a reason and a lot of people get away with bad technique because they’re meaner than the other guy. “If I can add a little bit more meanness to myself and little bit more meanness to my game, the extra technique I have will go a long way.” The West Australian can also reveal iconic Australian fighter Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa will step into the octagon fellow heavyweight Sean Sharaf in another bumper bout. Junior Tafa will battle Kevin Christian in a three-round light heavyweight bout, while Sydney’s Cam Rowston will go toe-to-toe with fellow middleweight Robert Bryczek. Sydney’s Jacob “Mamba” Malkoun will go up against Gerald “GM3” Meerschaert in the middleweight division.