The UFC flyweight champion only cares about one thing these days: defending the belt in his home country. With the UFC 301 card being confirmed for Rio de Janeiro, Alexandre Pantoja, a native of the town, believes he can be a natural fit for the night’s important or co-main event, and doesn’t even mind who the challenger could be.
The UFC doesn’t want one other 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 observe what he thought can be a match between the subsequent 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 unique opinion.
“I assumed I can be insulted by the Mexicans, but it surely was actually the alternative. They welcomed me very nicely. They were chanting ‘Hey, hermano, Pantoja is Mexicano’”.
“I believe the entire scenario was set for Moreno to win and are available fight in Rio. The fight was close. Royval winning by decision five months after I beat him just goes to point out the extent where I’m without delay. If the UFC didn’t do any promoting after the fight, they made it clear that they’re probably not keen on making that fight for UFC 301.”
The UFC champion is willing to fight anyone
With a possible rematch against each Moreno and Royval out of the image, Alexandre Pantoja is aware that there is no such thing as a clear challenger to his belt, but he hopes this case doesn’t 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 and even champions from other promotions. The way in which Pantoja sees it, the flyweight division is so competitive that even men outside the highest 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 actual fact, my division is one of the vital competitive. In the event you put me against the twentieth ranked guy, he has a superb probability of giving me a tough fight.”
“I’m willing to prove my value against anyone the UFC chooses. I don’t have an issue with giving a shot to lower-ranked guy. If the UFC desires to bring over champions from Shooto. LFA, or pair me against Mokaev, if he beats Perez on Saturday, I’ll be ready. Crucial thing for me is with the ability to defend my belt in my city, Rio de Janeiro.”
UFC 301 is ready for May
Currently on a five-fight win streak, Alexandre Pantoja (27-5) defeated each Moreno and Royval in his most up-to-date outings. Before that, the 33-year-old also picked up wins over Alex Perez, Manel Kape and Royval once more. The Brazilian’s last loss dates back to July 2020, when he dropped a unanimous decision to former UFC contender Askar Askarov.
Still with no confirmed important or co-main event, UFC 301 is ready for May 4, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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