Tag: Alexandre Pantoja

Alexandre Pantoja: Henry Cejudo Would Need ‘Surgery’ To Make Flyweight Again

UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja isn’t buying former two-division king Henry Cejudo’s talk of a return to 125 pounds next year. Cejudo’s comeback from a short-lived retirement hasn’t gone to plan thus far. “Triple C” has gone 0-2 at bantamweight since returning three years on from his successful title defense opposite Dominick Cruz. After narrowly […]

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UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja isn’t buying former two-division king Henry Cejudo’s talk of a return to 125 pounds next year.

Cejudo’s comeback from a short-lived retirement hasn’t gone to plan thus far. “Triple C” has gone 0-2 at bantamweight since returning three years on from his successful title defense opposite Dominick Cruz.

After narrowly falling short of immediately regaining the crown against Aljamain Sterling in May 2023, Cejudo failed to stake his claim for another opportunity when he battled Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 this past February.

Having now slipped down the pecking order at 135 pounds, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist plans to take his pursuit of another stint as UFC champ back down to flyweight.

In the summer, Cejudo provided an update on his current status, noting that an injury has been keeping him on the sidelines. When he is healthy and ready to make the walk again, he seemingly expects to do so as part of the division he ruled over after unseating the great Demetrious Johnson in 2018.

During a recent interview with MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura, Pantoja reacted to Cejudo’s apparent plans to cut down for another title run at flyweight.

Suffice to say, the champ has his doubts…

“When you go to the surgery doctor, yeah, he needs (liposuction) to make the weight,” Pantoja said jokingly. “I don’t think he can make the weight again. He’s too big. I’d love the opportunity. If Cejudo can do that, I’ll give him five pounds to fight. It will be a dream to fight with Cejudo, of course. He’s a legend.”

For now, Pantoja will have his full attention on a different name set to arrive in the division.

In Kai Asakura, “The Cannibal” is scheduled to meet a former Rizin champion who has his sights on a memorable first foray into the Octagon at UFC 310 on Dec. 7.

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Alexandre Pantoja Jokes That He’s Ready To Start Trash Talking Kai Asakura To Secure UFC 310 Main Event

It currently isn’t known whether a new fight will be scheduled for UFC 310 in December following the cancellation of the original main event. Belal Muhammad was set to make the first defense of his welterweight title against the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov in Las Vegas. With Muhammad withdrawing due to an injury, Rakhmonov is hoping […]

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It currently isn’t known whether a new fight will be scheduled for UFC 310 in December following the cancellation of the original main event. Belal Muhammad was set to make the first defense of his welterweight title against the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov in Las Vegas.

With Muhammad withdrawing due to an injury, Rakhmonov is hoping to stay on the card in an interim title fight against the former champion, Kamaru Usman. There was also talk of whether the UFC would try to pull together a totally different main event but this doesn’t look to be an option following the update surrounding Alex Pereira.

The promotion does of course already have a title fight booked for the card with flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja facing off with new arrival, Kai Asakura. The issue from the UFC’s perspective is likely that Asakura will be making his debut so will be a relatively unknown fighter to a lot of fans in the US and there’s a language barrier there also.

With Pantoja not being the kind of champion who is going to sell the fight all by himself, it seems unlikely that they will be elevated into the main event. In a recent interview with Shakiel Mahjouri, Pantoja said that he’s ready to be the headliner if that’s what the UFC wants.

He even jokingly remarked that he’s prepared to start calling out Asakura and going against who he is in order to start hyping up the card and generating headlines.

“I’m ready for that, I’m ready to make my trash talk with Asakura and say he come from Japan, he don’t know, whatever you know. Whatever I need to say to him to make this show like everybody enjoy, you know. But you know about me, I’m not that guy. I’m not going to say anything. I say with my fists in the Octagon. I talking about that before, I’m another part of the coin. You have UFC is entertainment, of course, but I’m the good fighter. I’m fighter and I go for that.”

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Alexandre Pantoja Reacts To Former Opponent Brandon Moreno’s UFC Edmonton Win

UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja was watching on as Brandon Moreno returned to winning ways in memorable fashion this past weekend. Pantoja unseated Moreno from the 125-pound throne in July 2023, falling on the right side of a split decision in a memorable contest widely seen as last year’s best fight. Since then, “The Cannibal” […]

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UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja was watching on as Brandon Moreno returned to winning ways in memorable fashion this past weekend.

Pantoja unseated Moreno from the 125-pound throne in July 2023, falling on the right side of a split decision in a memorable contest widely seen as last year’s best fight. Since then, “The Cannibal” has cemented his grip on the crown with successful defenses opposite Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg.

“The Assassin Baby,” meanwhile, has been looking to work his way back to the Brazilian. That endeavor got underway on the wrong foot this past February in Mexico City, where Moreno once again found his opponent — Royval, this time — getting the nod on two out of the three scorecards.

That left the Mexican outlining plans for an extended break from competition and seemingly out of the flyweight title equation for the foreseeable future. But he returned to it in Edmonton on Saturday night, and in some style.

In the main event, Moreno handed Albazi his first defeat in the UFC, beating “The Prince” up across five rounds en route to a lopsided decision victory.

The former two-time champ received heavy praise across the community in the aftermath, including from a multi-time opponent of his. But Pantoja didn’t miss an opportunity to slide in a small jibe at the victorious Moreno in his X post…

“Very good fight my son,” Pantoja wrote in Portuguese.

Pantoja’s victory over Moreno last year marked his third over the Mexican in MMA. While the Brazilian’s gotten the better of him twice in professional UFC bouts, he also forced a tap from “The Assassin Baby” way back in 2016 during season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter.

With Moreno’s triumph in Canada on Nov. 2, it appears that a rare tetralogy could be on the table despite the Mexican’s 3-0 deficit to Pantoja. Before that comes to fruition, though, both men would appear to have some work to do.

In addition to Moreno acknowledging that he likely requires another strong performance to secure a shot, Pantoja is currently gearing up for his third defense. He’ll welcome former Rizin titleholder Kai Asakura to the Octagon at UFC 310 next month.

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Belal Out, Alexandre Pantoja In? Flyweight Champ Seeks Main Event Spot at UFC 310 “I’m going to put on a very good show.”

Alexandre Pantoja UFC 310The UFC flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja has expressed his thoughts on the recent news that Belal Muhammad has been…

Alexandre Pantoja UFC 310

The UFC flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja has expressed his thoughts on the recent news that Belal Muhammad has been removed from the UFC 310 card due to injury. He is booked in a flyweight title match against Japan’s Kai Asakura, originally booked as the co-main, but the Brazilian champion is campaigning for the main event in Las Vegas on December 7.

Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 310

Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja has produced some of the most exciting matchups in the UFC with wins against fighters such as Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, and Brandon Moreno, among others. He is set to face the RIZIN world champion Kai Asakura at UFC 310. Japan’s Asakura is recognized for punching power and boxing.

Belal Muhammad was booked to face the unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov in a welterweight title match but was forced to withdraw due to injury. UFC 310 is reportedly without a main event. Some have speculated that an interim welterweight title match will be booked or the light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will face a last-minute opponent. But, Alexandre Pantoja is asking, why not him?

In an interview with Mike Heck, the Brazilian champion Alexandre Pantoja explained:

“I heard about Belal [being] hurt like two days ago in my gym before and I said, ‘It’s right?,’” But it’s just talk, the guys just talking about it and then [earlier] I just seen the video [with him] in hospital with his feet. That’s a real, real problem on there, and this happens [at] a lot in the MMA gyms, some infections [on] the floor, they go to the gym. … I just [have] one main event in my life — in my last fight in Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro, and I know there’s some difference [fighting in that spot].“

Alexandre Pantoja

Alexandre Pantoja continued:

“You need to do more stuff to sell your pay-per-view, sell your fight, and let’s go. It’s a good time to learn about that. I think what everybody knows about is how I’m fighting, and after, I took a little break — maybe people don’t realize that, but I took a little break. My last fight was in May and now I fight in December, and this break is very good for me, for my family, you know.”

“And now I feel super fresh for that fight because I had a good time, my family had a good time and now we’re in camp again. And we can see the difference in the house because my family breathes my fights. After all, this happened for so many years. I know, 100 percent, I’m going to put on a very good show. I don’t like to say I’m going to finish that guy, I do my job, but, 100 percent, I’m in the best shape of my life.”

On facing the RIZIN world champion Kai Asakura, he added

“That’s what everybody wants to see: The best [in the] UFC versus another promotion, another champion for all the world, and I have the opportunity. I’m very happy with the opponent for me, and more because I have [fought in main] events and Asakura [is] very popular in Japan, and I know [that] the Japanese buy a lot of pay-per-views too. That’s very good.”

Alexandre Pantoja Explains Why He Isn’t Interested In Moving Divisions

Many UFC fighters are quick to talk about their desire to move up the weight classes in order to achieve success in multiple divisions. This is not a current priority or goal for UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja. The Brazilian has already defended his title twice since beating Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 to finally […]

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Many UFC fighters are quick to talk about their desire to move up the weight classes in order to achieve success in multiple divisions. This is not a current priority or goal for UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.

The Brazilian has already defended his title twice since beating Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 to finally realize his dream of holding the gold. Alongside successful defenses over Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg, Pantoja has already beaten other top contenders in Alex Perez and Manel Kape.

This doesn’t leave the champion with an abundance of options for new challenges when you look at who’s at the top right now, hence why new star signing Kai Asakura will be going straight into a title fight at UFC 310 on December 7. Despite this, Pantoja does not have plans to move to bantamweight in the near future.

In a recent interview with Sherdog, he said that in his opinion, the flyweight division has never been better when you look at the quality of fights and talent. He’s extremely happy where he is, especially whilst he’s on top.

“Flyweight have the best moment ever. We have a lot of main events, a lot of best fights of the night, a lot of bonuses. All the flyweight fights, you make sure that the fight is going to be crazy. I’m super happy with that moment and when I look to the back, I see a lot of good challengers, especially guys coming into the top 10, top 15. New guys in the UFC, that’s crazy. You see Taira make a close fight with Royval. You see Asu (Almabayev) fight beautiful fight with Matheus Nicolau too. You have a lot of good names coming for that division and now, one more, Kai Asakura, is going to be great. I think that’s the best moment for flyweight in UFC.”

Pantoja also said that his desire to move up to bantamweight depends on two things, a potential fight with Sean O’Malley or a rematch with Deiveson Figueiredo but neither are champions right now.

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Alexandre Pantoja Predicts Moreno vs. Albazi Winner At UFC Edmonton

This weekend in Edmonton, top five flyweights meet in the main event as Amir Albazi looks for his biggest win to date when facing the former champion, Brandon Moreno. We already know who Alexander Pantoja’s next title challenger is but either man can put themselves in the mix with a win here. For Moreno, it’s […]

Continue Reading Alexandre Pantoja Predicts Moreno vs. Albazi Winner At UFC Edmonton at MMA News.

This weekend in Edmonton, top five flyweights meet in the main event as Amir Albazi looks for his biggest win to date when facing the former champion, Brandon Moreno. We already know who Alexander Pantoja’s next title challenger is but either man can put themselves in the mix with a win here.

For Moreno, it’s going to be hard for him to earn a shot at Pantoja after losing to the Brazilian champion three times in his career. It’s still important for the Mexican star to bounce back here following his loss to Brandon Royval in February.

Albazi is one of the few new contenders at the top of the rankings who would provide a new challenge for Pantoja, assuming that the champion is able to retain the title in his fight with Kai Asakura at UFC 310 in December. He’s riding a five-fight winning streak since signing with the UFC and adding Moreno to that list will put him within reach.

In a recent interview with Sherdog, Pantoja gave his thoughts on how he sees this weekend’s main event playing out. He also spoke about how he sees a fight against the winner playing out if it does happen down the line.

“I think Albazi has more chance to get the victory. He’s very close to fight for the belt, I think he not gonna miss the opportunity, you know. Moreno is an incredible fighter, former champ, but maybe Albazi want more in that moment. Albazi maybe want more and his grappling is very good. I don’t know if Moreno can defend the takedown shots. I don’t know if Moreno, his boxing, can work against Albazi because Albazi moves a lot, he has very good wrestling.

“I think that fight is going to be a decision for Albazi and I don’t want to say like if you have an easy fight or something like that but I like to grapple. I think in that moment right now, a grappler for me, it’s a perfect fight. It’s a good challenge of course, all is different but I have very good jiu-jitsu and I’m very comfortable in the ground game.”

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