Alexandre Pantoja Justifies Showing Interest To Fight Sean O'Malley

Alexandre Pantoja was inclined to fight the former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. One of the reasons behind it was to prove that he can triumph over him. The Brazilian standout who has already made a successful defense of his flyweight title twice thought of moving up to 135 pounds to get a shot at O’Malley with whom he had some issues to solve. But the recent title defeat of O’Malley at the hands of Merab Dvalishvili altered the view of Pantoja. 

However, Alexandre is dedicated to the flyweight division of the UFC. The thought of making a jump to bantamweight seems to have subsided. As of now, his primary goal is to seamlessly go past Asakura on 7th December at UFC 310. 

This becomes the first promotional bout for Asakura, which increases interest in the contest since Alexandre will seek to retain the belt versus a demonstrable contender from another promotion. However, outside of Asakura, the flyweight division still seems to be full of upcoming fighters. Pantoja could fight the same opponents in the future, and there is a chance to secure a rematch with Moreno and Royval. 

Alexandre Pantoja on fighting Sean O’Malley 

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, the UFC flyweight champion explained why he was looking forward to fighting Sean O’Malley. 

“No, I’m the flyweight champion,” Pantoja said, as quoted by mmajunkie.usatoday.com. “I want to stay here for a long time. I just thought about (a move) to fight with O’Malley because we have some history before, you know, he talked something bad. I want to prove I beat him in the gym, and I can beat him in a real fight.”