Following his second title defense at UFC 301 last night, “Cannibal” declared nothing is going to stop him in the cage short of a bullet.
Alexandre Pantoja returned to his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last night (Sat., May 4, 2024), defending his Flyweight title against Steve Erceg in the pay-per-view (PPV) main event of UFC 301.
Considering the Australian was seeded No. 10 in the 125-pound rankings, Erceg gave “The Cannibal” a surprisingly competitive fight that was decided in the final minute of the final round on two judges’ scorecards.
When the chips were down, Erceg shot for a takedown late in the fifth round, which Pantoja reversed. The Brazilian fighter ended the bout on top and took the win 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46.
“Not to belittle Erceg — everyone saw what a tough fighter he is — but I thought I could really finish this fight in the first round,” Pantoja said at UFC 301’s post-fight press conference. “I was hurting him with my strikes, but when a guy comes to fight for the UFC belt, he comes to kill or to die … especially in the Flyweight division. They are all very talented fighters.
“Erceg is a very good fighter, I’m sure he will make a lot of noise in this division,” Pantoja concluded.
Admittedly, Pantoja fought a reckless fight and paid for it in blood, getting cut wide open by an Erceg elbow.
“I think that only when someone is allowed to bring a gun into the Octagon will someone kill me there,” he said of the wound. “As long as I’m standing and have energy, I could get cut, hurt, but I’ll keep fighting, especially because I wanted to represent in Brazil. I couldn’t leave here without this victory.
“I think few champion fighters have managed to defend their title at home,” Pantoja later added about the chance to headline in Rio. “I’m from Copacabana, I grew up in Arraial do Cabo and I saw everyone in the arena today and it made a total difference for me. I owe 50 percent of my victory to the fans who were present in the arena, who shouted with me, who cheered with me. I dedicate this victory to everyone who was here today.”
This is as clean of a slicing elbow and left hook combo by Steve Erceg as you’ll see in MMA.
Pantoja is so damn tough. Walked right through this combo, but the cut is leaking bad. pic.twitter.com/LpPikPESYw
— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) May 5, 2024
It’s been a busy 12 months for Pantoja, who won the Flyweight title in July 2023 and has already defended it twice. His current plan is to sit back and take a rest with the hopes that a big name will become available to fight.
He shared two ideas: Sean O’Malley and Demetrious Johnson.
“I have a very good division to defend,” he said. “I would only go up if I had to fight O’Malley. If it’s another champion in the top category, I don’t care. I just want to go up against O’Malley. He’s a guy who talked nonsense about me. I already hit him once and I can hit him again.
“If Demetrious Johnson is listening and wants to come back and try something, that would be an honor for me,” he added. “I think the only dream I have is to fight a guy like that. For me, he is one of the biggest names to ever be in UFC.”
As cool as that fight would be, “Mighty Mouse” is currently signed to ONE Championship, although he hasn’t competed in the organization (where he is the Flyweight champion) for a year now. If Pantoja wants to face the Flyweight G.O.A.T., he may have to do it via a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament.
As for Sean O’Malley, he’s expected to fight Merab Dvalishvili sometime toward the end of 2024 (details here). So, Pantoja will most likely have to wait and see who emerges from the current UFC Flyweight roster as a dominant challenger for his next title defense.
For complete UFC 301 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.