Alexandre Pantoja wishes to protect his UFC flyweight belt in Rio de Janeiro on May 4, and he does not actually care who’s standing throughout the octagon at UFC 301.
The Rio de Janeiro native flew to Mexico to see Brandon Royval beat Brandon Moreno in the primary occasion of UFC Mexico City this previous weekend and questions if Royval, triumphant through split choice, will be healthy sufficient to contend in early May after a 25-minute fight.
Pantoja, who beat Royval two times currently, takes a look at the department– and even outside the company– to seek for oppositions for his belt. Pantoja is 9-0 versus fighters presently ranked in the leading 7 of the UFC flyweight department, consisting of exhibit bouts on The Ultimate FighterBecause of that, Pantoja thinks unbeaten phenom Muhammad Mokaev might make a chance at the belt with a triumph over Alex Perez at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 87 occasion.
“There’s sufficient time, although he cuts a great deal of weight,” Pantoja stated on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. “I understand that due to the fact that he trained here at American Top Team before and he’s actually huge for the department. I believe it makes overall sense if he wins. Moreno had the ball on his court [and lost]and now Mokaev has it. Let’s see what takes place.”
Mokaev can clinch his 6th straight UFC triumph on Saturday, the best start for a flyweight in the history of the company. He can likewise enhance to 11-0 in the sport, with a 35-fight unbeaten streak in between amateur and expert MMA bouts integrated. The latter might assist offer the story for a title battle in Brazil.
“He’s an extremely skilled kid,” Pantoja stated of Mokaev. “He’s extremely gifted and likes to discover, however he follows a various line of idea that I do. He was raised in London, so he’s not a genuine Russian, however he has that culture behind him.”
“Brandon Royval is lengthier and likes to play jiu-jitsu,” he continued, “and Mokaev is more strong, likes that heavy grappling, a design I’m carrying out to my video game and it works actually well. It’s really difficult to do, it needs a great deal of conditioning and strength, and I’m revealing I’m capable of doing it. I likewise believe that Mokaev has more holes in his striking than Royval, who understands how to utilize the range– or Moreno and his boxing. I believe it would be more of a grappling match, and I’m incredibly comfy doing that.”
Pantoja stated he scored the UFC Mexico City centerpiece 49-46 in favor of Royval which “Moreno didn’t combat.” Pantoja marvels if Moreno felt the pressure of failing as soon as again in front of his fellow citizens.
The champ eventually anticipates a difficult battle if he has to fulfill Royval a 3rd time at UFC 301, and isn’t neglecting Royval since of his previous success versus him.
