Alexandre Pantoja Discusses Timeline For Next Fight, Expects Bout to be Finalized “Real Soon”
By FCF Staff
After defending the UFC’s flyweight crown this past December, Alexandre Pantoja expects that his next bout will be finalized in the near future.
Pantoja (29-5) faced former RIZIN bantamweight champ Kai Asakura at UFC 310, and choked the dangerous striker out in the second round.
More recently, the Brazilian champ spoke with MMA Junkie. While doing so, Pantoja reported he believes his next title defense will be announced soon.
“I think I’ll have a fight scheduled real soon,” Pantoja said. “I really tried to jump in Miami in April. I live in Miami, I live in Florida, and that’s a huge opportunity for me. Make a fight in my hometown right now, that’s going to be very special. I have a lot of training to do, a lot of work to do, but that’s something I really want.”
It remains to be seen who Pantoja, however, will face. The 34-year-old has already defeated Brandon Royval and Brandon Moreno, who are ranked #1 and #2 respectively. The #3 ranked Amir Albazi is coming off a loss to the former champ Moreno.
The #4 ranked Kai Kara France quickly stopped Steve Erceg in his last outing, but he was coming off consecutive losses to Albazi and Moreno. The #5 ranked Tatsuro Taira dropped a split decision to Royval in his last bout.