Alexandre
Pantoja believes his accolades warrant more respect than he
receives.

The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight titleholder will have
an opportunity to reclaim the title against Joshua Van
at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles. He suffered an arm injury early
in their first meeting in December last year and has been focused
on recovery and his Octagon return ever since.

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Alexandre Pantoja says an early arm injury defines his view of
first Joshua Van fight

Pantoja believes his title loss is sometimes portrayed as though
Van simply beat him, which the Brazilian disputes.

“He not beat me, you know?” Pantoja said in a recent interview. “I
know like an athlete, I lose the fight, I know I lose my belt, I’m
not my champion anymore, but it’s not someone beat me.”

Pantoja also pointed to his strength of schedule at 125 pounds,
noting that he has faced much of the division’s elite, defeated
some opponents multiple times and put together an eight-fight
winning streak before losing the belt.

“I fight with the best fighters in my division,” Pantoja said. “I
fight with the whole Top 10, I beat some guys three times and I
have eight wins in a row, you know, with the best fighters.”

However, Pantoja admitted that the lack of recognition doesn’t
bother him enough to change his approach.

“I don’t have a lot to recognize, you know, but for me that’s
okay,” he said. “What I want is to be the best fighter in the
world. I try to be that guy every day in my life, because I’m
training very hard. Joshua Van can be sure, I want that fight more
than ever.”

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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