Pantoja reignites rivalry and doesn't rule out challenging O'Malley after fight at UFC 301

Alexandre pantoja He is the current UFC flyweight champion. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

Declared rival of Sean O'Malley, current UFC bantamweight champion (up to 61,2kg), Alexandre pantoja does not rule out going after the star after his second title defense in UFC 301. King of the flyweights (up to 56,7kg.), the Brazilian recalled training with the North American and expressed confidence for an eventual confrontation against 'Sugar'.

“I'm thinking about moving up to bantamweight and fighting O'Malley. It's a good story I have with him. Six years ago I went to Arizona to train with him. I found distance from him when I trained with O'Malley, it wasn't a big problem for me. Maybe, after my second title defense, I will be very open to this opportunity, but only for O'Malley”, said the Brazilian in an interview with MMA Junkie.

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Former training partner of the North American, Alexandre pantoja raised controversy in 2023 when he announced that he had gotten the better of Sean O'Malley during trainings. In addition to the statement, the flyweight champion stated that the 'Sugar' team recorded every moment.

Sean O'Malley was the main star of UFC 299 (Photo: Instagram/UFC)

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On the other hand, O'Malley responded by declaring that he should not challenge athletes from lighter divisions and revealed that he had already knocked out Pantoja in past training. Despite the controversy, the rivalry did not gain new chapters until then.