Former UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja says he is fully healed and is targeting a rematch with Joshua Van in a bid to reclaim the 125-pound title.
Pantoja injured his arm in his flyweight title defense against Van at UFC 323 in December, a bout Van won before going on to defend his new belt in May with a fifth-round stoppage of Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328. Now, Pantoja says he is ready to return and wants another shot at the champion.
“I’m ready,” Pantoja said, describing how quickly he pushed back to training. “After December, what happened to my arm, two days after that, I went to the gym, started training with just one arm. That’s who I am. I’m not done. I’m not done. I have so much to conquer. I have so much to prove. And when you have the belt, your words [mean more]. I want to take the belt again. I want to be UFC champion one more time and keep talking to good things, about the world and things I saw in my life, make people happy. That’s what I want.”
“Of course, I have unfinished business with Joshua Van,” Pantoja added. “Like, as an athlete, I know I lost the fight. That happened. But like a man, I don’t think he beat me. I’m still here. I’m ready to fight. I’m in amazing shape. Let’s see what happens next.”
Pantoja also praised the surging flyweight field and pointed to Manel Kape as “one of the most dangerous fights in the world in flyweight” and “the next contender,” while maintaining that his priority is settling things with Van first.
