Flyweight champion Alexandre
Pantoja traveled to Mexico to watch the main event of
UFC Fight Night 237 last Saturday certain of two things.
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First, the winner of the evening’s headliner would determine his
opponent for UFC 301
in Rio de Janeiro on May 4 and second, he would receive a hostile
reception from fans in Mexico City. As it turned out, Pantoja was
in for a surprise.
“I thought I was going to be offended by the Mexicans, and it was
exactly the opposite,” he said. “They welcomed me very
affectionately and even shouted ‘Hey hermano, Pantoja is
Mexicano.’”
The result of the UFC Mexico main event may have altered the
promotion’s plans, as Brandon
Royval took a split decision over Brandon
Moreno in a somewhat surprising result.
“I think the whole stage was set for Moreno to win and come to
Rio,” Pantoja said. “The fight was very even and the fact that he
beat Moreno months after I won five rounds against him [Royval]
shows the level I’m at. If the UFC did not do any promotion after
the fight, it made it clear that they should not be interested in
doing this match again at UFC 301.”
Royval later revealed on Instagram that he likely tore the MCL in
his knee. For his part, Pantoja said he’d be willing to accept any
UFC decision in order to remain on the UFC 301 card.
“Royval tore his ligament, Manel Kape
didn’t make weight to fight Nicolau, Albazi had surgery,” Pantoja
said. “In fact, my category is one of the most competitive. If you
pick the [No. 20] flyweight, he has every chance of giving me a
tough fight. It all depends on [matchup].”
Pantoja then used an analogy from the first film in the Rocky
series, when Apollo Creed agrees to face the newcomer, Rocky
Balboa.
“And I’m willing to prove myself against whoever the UFC chooses,”
he said. “I have no problem with being Apollo Creed, giving the
opportunity to newcomers to fight for the belt. “If the UFC wants
to bring in champions from Shooto, LFA or even have a confrontation
with [Muhammad] Mokaev, if he beats Perez impressively on Saturday,
I’ll be ready. The most important thing for me would be to be able
to defend this title in my city, Rio de Janeiro.”