Alexandre Pantoja defended his UFC flyweight title for the second time, winning a unanimous decision over Steve Erceg, becoming the second fighter in UFC history to win multiple flyweight title defenses and the first to headline a UFC pay-per-view event since Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 256.
Alexandre Pantoja is on cloud nine. Not just because of his recent victory, but also due to the current state of the UFC flyweight division.
The setting was the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro. It was a Saturday evening. Pantoja was defending his UFC flyweight title for the second time. The event? UFC 301.
His opponent was Steve Erceg. Though Erceg was somewhat under the radar, being only the No. 10 ranked flyweight in the UFC, he gave Pantoja a run for his money. He even won two rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards.
Pantoja was expecting a tough fight. And boy, did he get one.
“I think I clearly won the first three rounds of the fight,” Pantoja said. His words were translated at his UFC 301 post-fight media scrum. “The fourth round could’ve been his. The fifth round was mine, so I definitely think it was 4-1. The guy was very tough. It was what we said. This is a guy from Australia, very tough, that people didn’t really know, and he came in there to die. He was prepared to die and I think that’s what it’s all about when you fight for the championship.”
Pantoja’s victory was historic. He became only the second fighter in UFC history to win multiple flyweight title defenses. The first? Demetrious Johnson.
But Pantoja’s win was even more special. He was the first flyweight fighter to headline a UFC pay-per-view event since Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 256. Quite an achievement for a division that the UFC once planned to ditch.
The recent flyweight bouts like UFC Vegas 91 and UFC Mexico City have also been headlining. Pantoja believes that the 125-pound weight class is having its moment.
“I’ve always said this division is entirely tough,” Pantoja said. “You can take the 10th-ranked guy and fight against the champion, and you guys saw exactly that tonight. This division is all about work. You can’t move up in the rankings just by talking, and I’m really happy to see this. I think this was a watershed moment for the division. We’ve been having main events in Mexico, there was a main event last week between flyweights, so I’m very happy to see this moment.”
At the heart of it all? Pantoja.
It took him a while to get there, but the longtime UFC fighter finally claimed the flyweight title in 2023. Now, he’s working on establishing himself as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. But with three fights in less than a year, Pantoja wants to take a well-earned break before looking to add a third ruby to his UFC belt.
“I really want to see him against a top-five guy in this division,” Pantoja said of Erceg. “I want to see how he works out. I think he’s going to gain a lot of space in this division, but right now I’m not thinking about that. I don’t want to think about the gym or fighting, I want to think about the beach. … Maybe tomorrow that changes, but for now that’s it.”