Ramazan Temirov, a third-fight newbie in the organization, flattened ranked Steve Erceg with a right hand and finished him in the first round on Saturday at 4:21. And before the sweat was even dry from that brutal performance, Temirov was calling out the champ, Joshua Van. Talk about shooting your shot! This kind of immediate, aggressive challenge is exactly what gets the combat world buzzing and puts an entire division on notice.
Temirov Just Changed the Flyweight Conversation
This isn’t just a win; it’s a statement. Remember Steve Erceg? The Australian flyweight who got fast-tracked to a title shot in his fourth fight back in 2024? He lost a unanimous decision to then-champ Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 and has been up and down since, with a 2-2 record in his subsequent four fights. He beat Ode’ Osbourne and Tim Elliott by unanimous decision but lost to Kai Kara-France via first-round KO and Brandon Moreno by unanimous decision. Erceg was still ranked 13th heading into Saturday, but Temirov just wiped him out. The Uzbek phenom delivered a right hand that dropped Erceg, then swarmed him with a follow-up flurry that forced referee Mike Beltran to step in. Now, Temirov wants the same “title shot with a bullet” treatment Erceg once got, straight up identifying champion Joshua Van as his next target. You can’t ask for a clearer message than that.
Ankalaev Dares Costa, and Kuniev Demands His Rematch
But Temirov wasn’t the only one making waves. Magomed Ankalaev, the former champion and current No. 2 contender, also threw down a challenge. He finished ninth-ranked Bogdan Guskov by TKO in Round 5 at Etihad Arena, a dominant display. Then, he set his sights on Paulo Costa. This is wild because just two years ago, Costa was losing four of five fights at middleweight, including to Sean Strickland in June 2024. But now, after moving to light heavyweight and picking up consecutive wins against Roman Kopylov (UD 3) and Azamat Murzakanov (KO 3), Costa is a sought-after commodity! Ankalaev said, “I believe I saw that Paulo Costa wrote something my direction. I’m not sure what he was trying to say. Was he trying to bother me? Was he trying to get my attention? So if the champion is indeed going to be out for a little while, then potentially maybe we could have a good fight with Costa , unless he’s going to be running away.” Ouch.
Meanwhile, Russian heavyweight Rizvan Kuniev is out here looking for revenge. He was a dramatic winner on Saturday’s main card, finishing Tyrell Fortune with a knee at 1:12 of the final round in their scheduled three-rounder. Kuniev, ranked seventh, suffered a narrow loss to long-time contender Curtis Blaydes just 13 months ago in Azerbaijan, winning one round on one card but losing two on the other two. Since then, he’s won his only interim fight, beating Jailton Almeida by unanimous decision in February. He made it clear: “I’m ready for anybody the organization give me. Anybody the promotion offers me, I’ll take them. But most importantly, I would love to fight Curtis Blaydes.” He wants that one back, badly.
These callouts from Abu Dhabi are setting up some absolute must-see matchups for the rest of the year. With Temirov eyeing Van, Ankalaev daring Costa, and Kuniev pushing for Blaydes, the matchmakers have their work cut out. You know we’ll be watching every single move as these fights get made. Get ready for some serious fireworks!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
Leave a Reply