UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja is open to defending his title against any challenger at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro on May 4, and believes undefeated fighter Muhammad Mokaev could earn a shot at the belt with a victory over Alex Perez at the upcoming UFC Vegas 87 event.
Alexandre Pantoja is all set. He’s ready to defend his UFC flyweight belt in Rio de Janeiro on May 4. Who he’s up against in UFC 301? Doesn’t matter much to him.
He recently flew to Mexico. Watched Brandon Royval defeat Brandon Moreno in the UFC Mexico City main event. Now he’s wondering. Will Royval, who won by split decision, be fit enough to compete in early May after a grueling 25-minute fight?
Pantoja’s beaten Royval twice before. But he’s not just looking within his division for challengers. He’s casting a wider net, even outside the UFC. His record? Impressive. He’s 9-0 against fighters currently ranked in the top seven of the UFC flyweight division. This includes exhibition bouts on The Ultimate Fighter.
He’s got his eye on Muhammad Mokaev. Undefeated and a rising star. If Mokaev beats Alex Perez at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 87 event, Pantoja thinks he could earn a shot at the belt.
“There’s enough time, even though he cuts a lot of weight,” Pantoja said on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. He knows Mokaev’s size. He’s seen him train at American Top Team. He’s big for the division. But if he wins? Pantoja thinks it makes total sense. Moreno had his chance and lost. Now it’s Mokaev’s turn. “Let’s see what happens.”
Mokaev could clinch his sixth straight UFC victory on Saturday. That would be the best start for a flyweight in UFC history. He could also improve to 11-0 in the sport, with a 35-fight unbeaten streak between amateur and professional MMA bouts combined. This could help sell the narrative for a title fight in Brazil.
“He’s a very talented kid,” Pantoja said of Mokaev. He’s got talent and a thirst for learning. But he’s different. Raised in London, he’s not a “legitimate” Russian, but he carries that culture with him.
“Brandon Royval is lengthier and likes to play jiu-jitsu,” Pantoja continued. “Mokaev is more solid, likes that heavy grappling, a style I’m implementing to my game and it works really well. It’s very hard to do, it requires a lot of conditioning and strength, and I’m showing I’m capable of doing it. But I also think that Mokaev has more holes in his striking than Royval, who knows how to use the distance — or Moreno and his boxing. I think it would be more of a grappling match, and I’m super comfortable doing that.”
Pantoja scored the UFC Mexico City main event 49-46 in favor of Royval. He feels “Moreno didn’t fight.” He wonders if Moreno felt the pressure of falling short once again in front of his countrymen.
But he’s not underestimating Royval. If they meet a third time at UFC 301, he expects a tough fight. He’s not overlooking Royval because of his previous success against him.
“Royval is a very difficult fighter, maybe more than Moreno,” Pantoja said. “In my opinion, Brandon Moreno is not on his prime anymore. Maybe he needs to change a few things. To me, as a fighter, it’s clear that all the attention has gotten to him, which is why I try to stay focused. … I made it look easy [against Royval], and he goes to Mexico and beats Moreno, so I think people are giving me more credit now that I’ve fought both.”
Mokaev and Royval are the top choices for his next title defense, Pantoja said. But he joked that he’s willing to go “full Apollo Creed” and give the shot to anyone else in the world, even an “unknown fighter” from any organization, just to be part of UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro. Another option could be re-signing Kyoji Horiguchi, but the RIZIN flyweight champion happens to train with Pantoja on a daily basis at ATT.
Manel Kape, who was working his way up towards a chance for gold, failed to make weight recently and had a rematch cancelled versus Matheus Nicolau earlier this year. Kape lost a decision when he met Pantoja in 2021.
“Manel Kape is super tough,” Pantoja said. “I would compare Manel Kape to Francis Ngannou. He’s super tough and fights for the same things I do. He is, to me, one of the toughest fights in the division, but he doesn’t make weight. He’s too big.”