Steve Erceg walked into UFC Vegas 109 knowing his career might be on the line. He left with his hand raised, halting a three-fight skid.<\/p>\n
The Australian won a gritty unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Ode Osbourne, surviving a first-round knockdown before grinding out the final two rounds.<\/p>\n
MORE:\u00a0Reyes talks up Ulberg ahead of UFC Perth<\/a><\/p>\n All three judges scored the fight for Erceg, who admitted the result wasn’t pretty – but it may have been the most important win of his career.<\/p>\n Just 15-months-ago, Erceg was fighting for UFC gold against Alexandre Pantoja. Fast forward to Sunday, and he was fighting to stay employed by the promotion.<\/p>\n Three straight losses had shaken his self-belief and placed him firmly on the chopping block.<\/p>\n “Unfortunately, I\u2019m on three losses and I could be fighting for my contract,” Erceg told\u00a0MMA Fighting<\/a>\u00a0prior to the bout.<\/p>\n Originally booked to face Alex Perez, Erceg saw two opponents withdraw before landing Osbourne – a dangerous knockout artist coming off of a win.<\/p>\n Despite being the betting favourite, the 30-year-old understood the test that he had in-front of him.<\/p>\n Osbourne made his intentions clear in the first round, tagging Erceg with a crisp check hook that sent the Aussie to the canvas.<\/p>\n The second round was tighter. Osbourne still landed clean but began to slow down, while Erceg pressed forward with grappling and clinch-work.<\/p>\n By the third round, Erceg had taken control – he shot for a takedown early, securing the mount, and riding out long stretches of control time.<\/p>\n