On December 7, Alexandre Pantoja will defend his UFC flyweight title for the second time in 2024. After defeating Steve Erceg in Rio in January, Pantoja is set to face Kai Asakura, the newly signed Rizin bantamweight champion, in UFC 310 on December 7th. In an exclusive interview with MMAUK, Pantoja expressed his approval of this matchup.
“It’s a fight that sells well. Asakura is very popular in Japan and has an interesting fighting style; he’s going to challenge me, which I like. He’ll need to adapt to UFC rules, which differ from those in Rizin, but I don’t think that will be a problem. It’s amazing that the UFC can bring a champion from another promotion here. It’s going to be a UFC versus Rizin situation, and fans enjoy this kind of ‘crossover,’” said Pantoja, who also advocated for a teammate: “It would be great if the UFC did the same with Johnny Eblen; I believe he could really shake things up in the middleweight division.”
The Brazilian isn’t looking beyond his next fight but didn’t shy away from commenting on Brandon Royval, who recently defeated prospect Tatsuro Taira at UFC Fight Night 244 and called for another title shot. Royval has lost to Pantoja twice, most recently in December 2023 at UFC 296.
“All the potential challengers have fights lined up, and Royval just fought for the belt in 2023, and I beat him in one of my best title defense performances. If I lose to Asakura, Royval could be next, but if I win, maybe UFC will look to bring in a fighter from another promotion. However, if they put Royval against me again if I win, that’s fine. He’s an excellent opponent,” said Pantoja.
Some fans have expressed that they see a certain monotony in the flyweight division, as title challengers seem to be repeating themselves, prompting the UFC to search for fighters from other promotions and weight classes. The champion firmly rejects this idea.
“I think the UFC will never consider ending the division; on the contrary. We headline events—we’ve headlined about three this year—and we deliver dynamic and thrilling fights,” defended the flyweight champion.
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