Australian UFC star Steve Erceg has opened up about his new mental approach to fighting, saying he can now compete at his best after getting rid of his fear of losing.
Erceg (14-4) will be aiming to snare his third win on the trot on Saturday (Sunday AEST) when he takes on flyweight Ramazonbek Temirov (19-3) as part of the co-main event at the UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi.
The 30-year-old West Australian feels he's as fit as he's ever been, but it's in his mind where arguably the greatest improvements have been made of late.
Erceg's meteoric start to his UFC career took a major hit in 2024 when his tension-filled world title loss to Alexandre Pantoja in Brazil was followed by a devastating round-one knock-out defeat to Kai Kara-France in Perth.
The loss to Kara-France rattled Erceg, who still looked like a fighter searching for answers in his next defeat - a unanimous decision loss to Brandon Moreno in Mexico last year.
Three defeats on the trot had left Erceg's career at the crossroads, but he has since snared wins over Ode Osbourne and Tim Elliott to reignite his path back to a title shot.
Erceg said a mental change in how he approached fights had been crucial in turning his form around.
"The Moreno fight for sure ... I was fighting not to lose," Erceg said.
"It's almost like I didn't want to get embarrassed. That's the fight that disappointed me the most."
Erceg revealed he went through a small patch of almost feeling frozen by fear about making the wrong decisions in a fight.
But he has shaken that off now, with Erceg adopting the mantra of whatever will be, will be.
A flyweight with KO power 😤
— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) July 23, 2026
Don't miss Perth's Steve Erceg THIS WEEKEND#UFCAbuDhabi | 🇦🇺Paramount+ | 🇳🇿TVNZ+ | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/a4IfJyi5Qq
"I can't control every detail, and I'm going to be happy with whatever happens, and that's like a big stress reliever," Erceg said.
"It's about accepting the outcome for what it's going to be. I've done all the training, I've analysed everything I can analyse.
"Now it's literally go out there and do what I do, and whatever happens, happens.
"With that new mindset, I feel like I can really open up and show my skills."
Erceg is also feeling strong physically, declaring "I just feel like nobody is as fit as me right now", and he's looking forward to taking down Ramazonbek.
"He's very explosive. He hits very hard," Erceg said.
"If you watch him briefly, he looks one-dimensional, but then he's got deceptively good footwork when he's on his back foot, and he times things well."
