We still don’t know what is going to be next for the UFC’s flyweight champion in his fourth title defense.
After his win over Kai Asakura at UFC 310, Alexandre Pantoja called out former champion Demetrious Johnson but this was quickly shut down.
Johnson is certain that he’s going to remain retired and that pushed Kai Kara-France to the front of the queue.
Though the graphic was quickly removed, it appears that Pantoja’s return is being targeted for UFC 316 which is expected to take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
With nothing being confirmed as of yet, some fans questioned after his recent win over Asu Almabayev whether Manel Kape could’ve emerged as the next challenger after he called for a rematch with Pantoja.
Adriano Moraes says the UFC might be moving towards Alexandre Pantoja vs Manel Kape
Brazil’s Adriano Moraes is a training partner of Alexandre Pantoja’s at American Top Team in Florida.
He is currently in pursuit of his own flyweight gold as ‘Mikinho’ looks to claim the vacant title at ONE 172 in Japan where he faces Yuya Wakamatsu at Saitama Super Arena.
Speaking in a recent interview with Bloody Elbow, Moraes gave his thoughts on what will be next for the UFC’s flyweight titleholder now that there is seemingly two options on the table.
As Moraes points out, the champion already holds wins over both men that are currently in the title picture, even if his win over Kai Kara-France came on The Ultimate Fighter in 2016.
The 35-year-old believes that whilst Pantoja was being lined up for a fight with Kara-France at one point, he thinks that the UFC may have changed their minds.
After Manel Kape put on a dominant performance last time out, whilst Kara-France has only fought once since June of 2023, Moraes thinks that ‘Starboy’ might get his wish unless the promotion decides to look elsewhere.
“He already fought against both, I think he has a win against both those guys. I think UFC already showed that he would be defending his belt against Kai Kara-France but this fight was cancelled. Then after this fight was cancelled, Manel Kape did a really good performance. He smash the undefeated fighter so maybe the UFC change their idea of the next contender or maybe not. Maybe they’re gonna sign a different fighter from a different organization, let’s see, a lot of opportunities in the air so let’s see what happens.”
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Adriano Moraes says that Manel Kape is the right opponent for Alexandre Pantoja
Not only does Adriano Moraes believe that the UFC might be leaning towards Manel Kape, he prefers this option for his teammate.
Kape was defeated by Pantoja on his UFC debut back in 2021 after he made the move over from Japanese promotion RIZIN.
After suffering a second consecutive loss to Matheus Nicolau via split decision, his only other setback was the controversial clash with Muhammad Mokaev last year.
Moraes believes that not only does ‘Starboy’ make sense as the next title challenger based on his style, he thinks that Kape has earned the opportunity for the rematch.
“For me personally, I prefer Kape to fight Pantoja because after he lost to Pantoja, he evolve a lot in his career, in UFC, and his run for the first contender has been amazing. He’s a finisher, I think that’s what everybody wants to see and I think for the UFC, it’s gonna be a really good idea to put him against Pantoja again.”