One of the highlights of UFC 277, Alexandre pantoja He's happy with life. Executioner of Alex Perez last Saturday (30), the Brazilian spoke exclusively to SUPER FIGHTS about his brilliant performance at the event and the great phase in his career. Without hiding his excitement, the athlete understands that he is close to a title fight in the flyweight category (up to 56,7kg).
Over the weekend, Pantoja returned to the octagon after almost a year of inactivity and 'walked' against Perez. The Tupiniquim's triumph happened after just over a minute, when the athlete submitted his opponent.]
Aggressive style
Current number two in the group that has Deiveson Figueiredo e Brandon Moreno as champions (linear and interim, respectively), Alexandre went to the UFC 277 to put on a show. Before forcing his opponent to withdraw, the Brazilian delivered an aggressive performance and explained the exciting profile of his challenges.
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“I am there every moment in my training. My teammates always mention this, they say that I'm a fighter as if it were a 'bar fight'. Of course there is technique involved. All that confusion is when I feel calmest. I really like this strength, this desire to fight. I'm like that naturally. Sometimes, in the fight, you have to be a little more careful, but, generally, I'm that one. (…) I trained a lot for this guy (Alex Perez). It seems like it was easy, but not at all. He's a very tough opponent. His last one, before me, had been for the title,” he said.
Message given
With the impressive victory on his return to the Octagon, Pantoja believes he has sent a message to the rest of the division. The show at UFC 277 made the Brazilian take second place in the category.
“The message was given. I've been doing this for a long time. I've been fighting since 2007, 15 years of doing this. I'm going through a very good phase, in my head and in my body. (…) Last year, I was given the chance to fight for the belt, but I gave it up to undergo surgery. (…) Once again, I had to go all the way. (…) I had one hand on the belt, I had to remove it during surgery, I did the recovery and, on Saturday, I put my hand on the belt again. (…) I believe in the fighter that I am, that I can be. I never tried to be a character. I never took any shortcuts. I went through everything I had to go through and, today, I arrive in this position. Let's say I'm the Charles of the Bronx flyweight,” he declared.
Next step
Even close to fighting for the flyweight throne, Pantoja knows he will need to wait for the UFC's decision regarding the title unification clash between Deiveson Figueiredo e Brandon Moreno. The fighter then spoke about a possible 'position' as a substitute for the clash between the two division champions.
“My boss, Dana White, said he sees me as a reserve for the fight, but in no way do I want to be seen as a reserve. I want to be the challenger, the next in line of confrontation”, he concluded.
Athlete's history
At 32, Alexandre pantoja has accumulated 30 appearances as a professional in MMA. Over 15 years in the sport, the Brazilian has 25 victories and five setbacks.
