Aussie UFC star Steve Erceg punches people in the face for a living – but he has a heartwarming reason for refusing to swear at his opponents

UFC star Steve Erceg wants to become one of the toughest dudes who has ever lived, and he’s determined to do it in the nicest of ways – which means no swearing in or out of the Octagon.

The Perth fighter will start as the underdog when he takes on former two-time flyweight champion Brandon Moreno in Mexico City on Sunday morning (AEDT).

The fight looms as a major fork-in-the-road moment for 29-year-old Erceg, who came close to snaring the belt off current champion Alexandre Pantoja last year, but is now on a two-fight losing streak.

Moreno (22-8-2) sits at No.3 in the flyweight rankings, and a win for Erceg (12-3) would bring the West Australian one step closer towards landing another shot at the belt.

But for Erceg, it’s his reputation that matters the most.

‘I don’t necessarily think a win puts me back in line for a title straight away,’ Erceg said.

‘There’s a few more guys I’d have to fight and beat before that.

‘But as far as what it does in my life – the way I’ll look back on it in 40 years – it’s a massive fight.

‘I’ve fought nothing but the baddest dudes on the planet, and I’ve always wanted to prove that I’m one of the toughest dudes to ever live.

‘This is one step closer to me proving that.’

Erceg is fast building a reputation for his toughness.

Another aspect that is resonating with fans is his respect for his opponents and genuine niceness – traits that don’t necessarily go hand in hand with UFC fighters.

‘I’ve been teaching martial arts for a long time, specifically the kids program, and it’s hard to teach them respect and humility if I’m going out there and antagonising everyone and calling them all these nasty words,’ Erceg said.

‘I did lose my mind after one fight and started swearing and all that stuff.

‘And literally every single person in my family when I called them, rather than congratulating me on the fight, they told me I was being an idiot and I should lay off the swear words.

‘That was a pretty good lesson.’

Erceg’s respect has stretched into his fight with Moreno.

‘I said to his face that it is so weird having watched you on TV for so many years and now I’m standing in front of you,’ Erceg said.

‘It’s very surreal. Weird, cool.’

Erceg’s star has been rising steadily in Australia over the past two years, and it seems his following in Mexico is shooting through the roof as well.

‘Surprisingly I’ve had more photos in the last two weeks than I usually would at home,’ Erceg said with a laugh.

‘The one that took me back the most was a guy who was on his motorbike driving on a main road – he pulled over and came to get a quick photo. That was cool.’

Mexico City sits 2240m above sea level, and Erceg arrived there four weeks ago in order to better acclimatise to the altitude.