The UFC is taking precautions for its upcoming flyweight title fight by having Alexandre Pantoja as the backup fighter.
Deiveson Figueiredo meets Joseph Benavidez in a rematch for the vacant strap that will headline the Fight Island event in Abu Dhabi taking place July 18. Pantoja — a winner of four of his last five outings — is notably competing on the same card as he faces Askar Askarov earlier in the night. But should there be a need to, he will step in to take part in the main event.
That’s because the first time Figueiredo and Benavidez fought for the vacant strap, the Brazilian ended up missing weight before going on to get the second-round TKO win. As a result, there was no new champion and the division was held back.
This time, there won’t be such a case if any fighter were to miss weight or get injured.
“They fought before and the division was stuck because of (Figueiredo’s) weight,” Pantoja told MMA Fighting. “And it wouldn’t make any sense for me to fight anyone else unless I was the backup fighter in this fight in case the same thing happened again. The division can’t stop.
“… I volunteered since the beginning when I knew that this fight would happen, and then they offered me Askarov. It’s the fight that makes sense, no doubt, since he’s ranked below me — Brandon (Moreno) is ranked ahead of me but I’ve beaten him twice already, I’m not sure they would like to see it again.”
Pantoja Prepared For Anyone
That said, Pantoja doesn’t expect Figueiredo to miss weight a second time.
And while he has prepared for three different opponents just in case, Pantoja’s main goal is fighting Askarov and cementing his place as the No. 1 contender.
He’s even expecting a quick finish.
“I say it every day in the gym, I’ll knock him out in the first round,” Pantoja said. “I say that knowing there’s a great opponent across the cage, someone that will do everything he can to beat me, but what I’ve been doing in the gym every day, I would bet on that.”
What do you think of Pantoja being the backup?