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The UFC flyweight champion only cares about one thing lately: defending the belt in his home country. With the UFC 301 card being confirmed for Rio de Janeiro, Alexandre Pantoja, a native of the city, believes he would be a natural fit for the night’s main or co-main event, and does not even mind who the challenger might be.
The UFC does not want another Brandon Moreno rematch, Alexandre Pantoja thinks
In an interview with Portal do Vale Tudo (translated by Bloody Elbow), the UFC champion explained he went to Mexico to watch what he thought would be a match between the next challenger to his title, between Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval. After it was all said and done, though, the Brazilian left the venue with a different opinion.
“I thought I would be insulted by the Mexicans, but it was actually the opposite. They welcomed me very nicely. They were chanting ‘Hey, hermano, Pantoja is Mexicano'”.
“I think the whole scenario was set for Moreno to win and come fight in Rio. The fight was close. Royval winning by decision five months after I beat him just goes to show the level where I am right now. If the UFC didn’t do any promoting after the fight, they made it clear that they are probably not interested in making that fight for UFC 301.”
The UFC champion is willing to fight anyone
With a potential rematch against both Moreno and Royval out of the picture, Alexandre Pantoja is aware that there is no clear challenger to his belt, but he hopes this situation does not prevent the UFC from giving him a title defense in Rio de Janeiro.
If need be, the Brazilian says he would even defend the belt against lower athletes or even champions from other promotions. The way Pantoja sees it, the flyweight division is so competitive that even men outside the top 10 could pose a threat to the UFC champion.
“Royval ruptured a ligament and I just beat him. Manel Kape missed weight for his fight against Nikolau. Albazi has just had surgery. In fact, my division is one of the most competitive. If you put me against the 20th ranked guy, he has a good chance of giving me a hard fight.”
“I’m willing to prove my worth against anyone the UFC chooses. I don’t have a problem with giving a shot to lower-ranked guy. If the UFC wants to bring over champions from Shooto. LFA, or pair me against Mokaev, if he beats Perez on Saturday, I’ll be ready. The most important thing for me is being able to defend my belt in my city, Rio de Janeiro.”
UFC 301 is set for May
Currently on a five-fight win streak, Alexandre Pantoja (27-5) defeated both Moreno and Royval in his most recent outings. Before that, the 33-year-old also picked up wins over Alex Perez, Manel Kape and Royval once again. The Brazilian’s last loss dates back to July 2020, when he dropped a unanimous decision to former UFC contender Askar Askarov.
Still without a confirmed main or co-main event, UFC 301 is set for May 4, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.