BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Alexandre Pantoja vs.
Steve Erceg

Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.

14-4-0 Alexandre Pantoja · UFC
5-4-0 Steve Erceg · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.

14-4-0
UFC record
5-4-0
Flyweight
Division (benchmark)
Flyweight
36.3
AgeΔ 5.3 yrs
31
5'5"
HeightΔ 3"
5'8"
67"
ReachΔ 1"
68"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
8
Layoff (months)Δ 7.6 mo
0.4
LWWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWWLL
The read

What the numbers say.

Scouting notes, auto-generated — only stats deviating more than 25% from the division median make this list. No narratives, just deviations.

Alexandre Pantoja hunts takedowns — 2.79 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.30 Flyweight norm.
Alexandre Pantoja owns the mat — in control 32% of cage time, vs a 17% Flyweight norm.
Steve Erceg outworks the Flyweight division — 4.56 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.49 norm.
Level of competition

Who did they actually beat?

Full-career records re-graded by the tier of opposition — the same grading the Contender Series pick model uses. Records built on tier-4 competition are worth less than records built on killers.

Alexandre Pantoja

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 144
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 20
Tier 3 — regional circuit 142

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.51 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 20 finish wins over 36 documented bouts

In the UFC: 9-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.2 wins over .500

Steve Erceg

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 54
Tier 3 — regional circuit 91

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.98 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 8 finish wins over 19 documented bouts

In the UFC: 2-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

9414.38/min · norm 3.49
Sig. strikes landed
5654.56/min · norm 3.49
8333.88/min · norm 3.24
Sig. strikes absorbed
5134.14/min · norm 3.24
50.3%norm 44.6%
Striking accuracy
46.8%norm 44.6%
49.8%norm 56.4%
Striking defense
55.5%norm 56.4%
40.28/15 · norm 0.18
Knockdowns
10.12/15 · norm 0.18

Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)

Alexandre Pantoja

Distance 87.8% (norm 85.1%) · Clinch 6.7% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 5.5% (norm 7.3%)

Steve Erceg

Distance 93.9% (norm 85.1%) · Clinch 5.3% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 0.8% (norm 7.3%)

What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)

Alexandre Pantoja

Head 76.0% (norm 75.9%) · Body 14.7% (norm 13.3%) · Legs 9.4% (norm 9.3%)

Steve Erceg

Head 83.5% (norm 75.9%) · Body 12.4% (norm 13.3%) · Legs 4.1% (norm 9.3%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.

Zone Pantoja L/AAccFlyweight med Erceg L/AAccFlyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 764 / 1641 46.6% 40.0% 501 / 1132 44.3% 40.0%
In the clinch 94 / 126 74.6% 70.4% 55 / 64 85.9% 70.4%
On the ground 83 / 103 80.6% 69.7% 9 / 10 too few to rate 69.7%
BY TARGET
To the head 597 / 1421 42.0% 37.6% 419 / 1007 41.6% 37.6%
To the body 202 / 274 73.7% 68.5% 103 / 150 68.7% 68.5%
To the legs 142 / 175 81.1% 80.0% 43 / 49 87.8% 80.0%

Zones with fewer than 25 attempts are marked "too few to rate". Each fighter is measured against the median of leaderboard-eligible fighters in his own division (Flyweight: 73 fighters · Flyweight: 73 fighters).

What lands on them Opponents' accuracy against each man

Green ≤ division median — harder to hit than the typical man in his division.

Zone vs Pantoja L/AOpp accFlyweight med vs Erceg L/AOpp accFlyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 719 / 1489 48.3% 40.1% 441 / 1059 41.6% 40.1%
In the clinch 57 / 90 63.3% 68.8% 44 / 57 77.2% 68.8%
On the ground 57 / 82 69.5% 71.1% 28 / 38 73.7% 71.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 677 / 1464 46.2% 35.2% 309 / 874 35.4% 35.2%
To the body 96 / 123 78.0% 68.2% 97 / 156 62.2% 68.2%
To the legs 60 / 74 81.1% 80.3% 107 / 124 86.3% 80.3%
Grappling

The ground war.

Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.

4047.6% acc · 2.79/15 · norm 1.30
Takedowns landed
927.3% acc · 1.09/15 · norm 1.30
5469.2% def · norm 62.5%
Takedowns stopped
3167.4% def · norm 62.5%
69:1832.3% of cage time · norm 17.0%
Control time
13:5911.3% of cage time · norm 17.0%
23:431:39 per 15 · norm 2:44
Time under control
14:481:47 per 15 · norm 2:44
140.98/15 · norm 0.58
Submission attempts
30.36/15 · norm 0.58

Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Pantoja has more cage time on record.

Next move

Let the engine settle it.