Alexandre
Pantoja has a unique perspective on the injury that abruptly
ended his
Ultimate Fighting Championship title reign.
Pantoja suffered the injury just 26 seconds into his championship
bout with Joshua Van
in December last year. Van caught the then-champ’s kick and forced
him backwards, forcing the latter to use his arm as a frame as he
crashed into the canvas, causing the injury. The anticlimactic
ending to the fight initially didn’t sit well with Pantoja, who now
views it differently.
Alexandre Pantoja explains how the Joshua Van injury loss
changed his approach before UFC 331
Ahead of their rematch at UFC
331, Pantoja said the injury ultimately changed his perspective
and gave him an opportunity to return to the championship mix with
a different mindset.
“I think after these 20 minutes, I’m already over it and focused on
what I have to do to get back,” Pantoja said in an interview with
Stake. “I am a very fast learner and I really
understood what I had to do. I feel like this was such a great gift
from God, to allow me to lose like that and come back to have this
opportunity to go again and get the championship back. I’ve been
training much better now. I have a better diet, I try to sleep
better and I have good people working with me. That allows me to
focus much more.”
While the dynamic between Pantoja and Van was amicable going into
their first clash, there’s bad blood brewing heading into the
rematch.