Alexandre Pantoja aims for recognition not just for himself, but for the entire flyweight weight class.
The reigning 125-pound champion successfully defended his title for the fourth consecutive time at UFC 317. He secured a dominant submission victory over Kai Kara-France on Saturday. Pantoja`s renowned durability and high-level grappling were evident as he withstood Kara-France’s best strikes to assert his control over the bout. Kara-France managed to survive until the third round before Pantoja secured the fight-ending rear-naked choke.
Heading into the event, Pantoja was ranked joint No. 3 in the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings alongside bantamweight titleholder Merab Dvalishvili. Now, the Brazilian champion believes there is only one fighter who rightfully belongs above him.
“It no make sense if I’m not No. 2,” Pantoja stated at the UFC 317 post-fight press conference. “I’m just behind Islam Makhachev. Does not make sense. Five fights for a title. Eight victories in this streak. Second submission, four title defense, numbers don’t lie. The only guy I’m accepting [ahead of me] is Islam Makhachev because he has the numbers.
“I try to understand the pound-for-pound rankings. I think it’s more victories, maybe it’s victories with ranked guys, maybe—I don’t know, guys think I need to beat someone like you put Jack Della Maddalena in front of me. You think I need to beat Jack Della Maddalena to get his position? That’s crazy. I think it’s time to respect flyweight more. Joshua Van, Brandon Royval, made maybe the Fight of the Night tonight. I make a very good fight with Kai Kara-France. I think it’s time for people to change their mind. Flyweight is a very entertaining division and I think things need to change.”
Just before Pantoja`s successful defense, top flyweight contenders Joshua Van and Brandon Royval engaged in a thrilling three-round battle. Van ultimately earned a unanimous decision win, but both fighters received `Fight of the Night` bonus awards for delivering what many are calling a potential `Fight of the Year` candidate for 2025.
Pantoja firmly believes the 125-pound category is currently more exciting than ever, regardless of criticism from casual observers.
“I think little by little we change [the perception of the flyweight division],” Pantoja commented. “Fights like that, Joshua Van and Royval. My fight with Kai Kara-France. Fights like [Brandon] Moreno and [Amir] Albazi. We have so many good fighters. I see the last year, 2024, we had a lot of main events with the flyweights, and I think things start to change. That’s so cool.”
Speaking about online negativity, Pantoja added: “I see on YouTube and Instagram, people saying bad things about my division. I don’t need to say anything about the haters. Hardcore fans go and say, ‘Hey, shut your mouth, casual.’ People realize how good this division is right now and just us can change that. I think because that whole division respects each other, it’s not bad blood with us.”
Pantoja`s recent victory marks his eighth consecutive win. His impressive UFC record includes victories over significant contenders such as Kara-France, Royval, Moreno, Alex Perez, and Manel Kape, among others. While holding great respect for Demetrious Johnson, widely considered the greatest flyweight ever, Pantoja feels the division today boasts unprecedented depth and global diversity.
“Joshua Van is so good, who can say different?” Pantoja remarked. “He beat Royval. I think Royval made some mistakes with him, tried to rush too much the fight, didn’t try to grapple a lot. And about the match with [Demetrious Johnson], I said before I really want to fight with him. He said he’s retired, he’s not coming back. Maybe it’s not good for him to come back because the flyweight division right now is so different. This high level is different.
“I respect all the guys opening the doors for us but right now you see, especially in my division, you have the whole world in the same division. Top 10, you have guys from the whole world: Japan. Africa. Brazil. Russia. Australia. New Zealand. That’s so amazing to be part of that.”
