A. Pantoja defended the flyweight belt in the UFC 296. (Photo: Twitter / @UFC)
Tipped to defend the flyweight belt (up to 56,7kg) in the UFC 301, which takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Alexandre pantoja he could end up seeing his dream of fighting in his hometown being frustrated. In an interview with the channel 'MMA Hoje', the coach of Brazilian Marcos Parrumpinha lamented the lack of a clear challenger and stated that, if there is no relevant rival, his pupil will not defend his title on May 04th.
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“Man, we’re the same, right? Ok, Pantoja (fight) but who are you going to put on? There are some names that they mentioned to us, but of the names that are mentioned, I even prefer Mokaev. I'm gonna tell you? I don't even know if Pantoja will fight in Rio, brother. I have to protect my athlete, I know that the Brazilian people, the Brazilian fans say 'Ah, we have to let him fight'. No, I have to protect my athlete. If it's a shitty fight, I'll turn to him (Pantoja) and say: 'Brother, your dream of fighting in Rio, let's postpone it a little bit'”, said Parrumpinha.
Aware of the pressure from the Brazilian fans, Parrumpinha did not hide his fear of seeing Pantoja 'get burned' by the arena public, in the event of a frustrating defeat.
“Because there's no point in this 'I want to fight in Rio' thing and f*ck yourself. We want to fight in Rio, win and have a party with the fans. We want to use the crowd to our advantage, before, during and after the fight. Because if you don’t win (in Rio), you already know, right?”, concluded the coach.
Flyweight champion since July 2023, after beating Brandon Moreno, Pantoja successfully defended his title at the UFC 296, in December 2023 by defeating Brandon royval in a calm unanimous decision by the judges.
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