Alexandre Pantoja
New challenges for Alexandre Pantoja
Alexandre Pantoja has done it all at flyweight.
Don’t let his two title defenses fool you. The division has been cleaned out by “The Cannibal.” His work was just done as he came through the ranks.
Now the American Top Team champion is stepping up for a new challenge. He’s not following McGregor’s footsteps and going to bantamweight for a double champion status. This challenge is something new.
Alexandre Pantoja finding new challengers
Once upon a time, the UFC put on an entire season of The Ultimate Fighter to find a challenger for Demetrious Johnson. That ended up being Tim Elliott. This time, for Pantoja, the UFC is just going get a new challenger. This is not traditionally done in the modern era of the promotion.
That challenge is Kai Asakura, the RIZIN champion who is making his promotional debut at UFC 310. Pantoja, who will be outgunned on the feet, is looking for a new challenger and Asakura can provide that.
While he did consider fighting Sean O’Malley, Pantoja decided 125 was his home. At 34, we only have so much Pantoja left.
Pantoja’s reign
The reign of Alexandre Pantoja has reigned the flyweight division since Demetrious Johnson was traded for Ben Askren. We just didn’t know it yet.
Since his own appearance on that same season of The Ultimate Fighter mentioned earlier, Pantoja has beat Brandon Moreno twice, Brandon Royval, Alex Perez, Brandon Royval twice, and Steve Erceg. This doesn’t include his TUF wins over Kai Kara-France and Brandon Moreno.
Alexandre Pantoja has been destroying the foundation of the division on his way up, making his claim at the throne known before he captured the crown. The only champion or title challenger he didn’t beat was Deiveson Figueiredo. That fight won him Fight of the Night.
Asakura, like Erceg before him, is a fresh start for Pantoja. A break for the norm.
