“I think I’ve been too focused on, ‘I need to improve my striking,’ or, ‘This guy does this well,’ and all that sort of stuff,” Erceg told UFC.com. “I’ve been making myself well-rounded for a long time for a reason. (I am) just trusting my skills and trying to put it all together.”
Of all the unique challenges on the roster, Elliott stands out. His quirky footwork, relentless pace, and veteran know-how have felled opponents for more than a decade, and one could say he is in his best form in years after scoring a submission win over Kai Asakura in August.
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“Astroboy” said he needs to stay mindful against Elliott and remain steady if he finds the 39-year-old difficult to hit early in the matchup.
“He’s going to try to make the fight look ugly, going to try to make it a fight,” Erceg said. “I know that it’s not going to be a contest of who has a nice jab and all that sort of stuff. It’s like, ‘Who wants it the most?’ And it’s going to be a very big contrast because I want to keep it clean and tidy, and he wants to make it dirty and ugly, so we’ll see. They (are) kind of like the Kryptonite of each other, if that makes sense, so it’s going to be interesting to see who can put together their skills and make it into (the) fight they want.”