Pantoja To Challengers: ‘Bring A Gun’ If You Want To Stop Me

Following his second title defense at UFC 301, Pantoja declared nothing is going to stop him in the cage short of a bullet.

Alexandre Pantoja returned to his hometown of Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night and defended his flyweight title against Steve Erceg in the main event of UFC 301. Considering the Australian was ranked No. 10 in the 125 pound rankings, Erceg gave “The Cannibal” a surprisingly competitive fight that was decided in the final minute of the final round on two judges’ scorecards.

When the chips were down, Erceg shot for a takedown late in the fifth that Pantoja reversed. The Brazilian fighter ended the bout on top and took the win 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46.

“Not to belittle Erceg — everyone saw what a tough fighter he is — but I thought I could really finish this fight in the first round,” Pantoja said at the UFC 301 post-fight press conference. “I was hurting him with my strikes, but when a guy comes to fight for the UFC belt, he comes to kill or to die, especially in the flyweight division. They are all very talented fighters.”

“Erceg is a very good fighter, I’m sure he will make a lot of noise in this division,” he concluded.

Pantoja fought a reckless fight and paid for it in blood, getting cut wide open by an Erceg elbow.

“I think that only when someone is allowed to bring a gun into the octagon will someone kill me there,” he said of the wound. “As long as I’m standing and have energy, I could get cut, hurt, but I’ll keep fighting, especially because I wanted to represent in Brazil. I couldn’t leave here without this victory.”

“I think few champion fighters have managed to defend their title at home,” he said about the chance to headline in Rio. “I’m from Copacabana, I grew up in Arraial do Cabo and I saw everyone in the arena today and it made a total difference for me. I owe 50% of my victory to the fans who were present in the arena, who shouted with me, who cheered with me. I dedicate this victory to everyone who was here today.”

It’s been a busy twelve months for Pantoja, who won the flyweight title in July 2023 and has already defended it twice. His current plan is to sit back and take a rest with the hopes that a big name will become available to fight. He shared two ideas: Sean O’Malley and Demetrious Johnson.

“I have a very good division to defend,” he said. “I would only go up if I had to fight O’Malley. If it’s another champion in the top category, I don’t care. I just want to go up against O’Malley. He’s a guy who talked nonsense about me. I already hit him once and I can hit him again.”

“If Demetrious Johnson is listening and wants to come back and try something, that would be an honor for me,” he added. “I think the only dream I have is to fight a guy like that. For me, he is one of the biggest names to ever be in the UFC.”

As cool as that fight would be, “Mighty Mouse” is currently signed to ONE Championship, although he hasn’t competed in the organization (where he is the flyweight champion) for a year now. If Pantoja wants to face the flyweight GOAT, he may have to do it via a BJJ tournament.

As for Sean O’Malley, he’s expected to fight Merab Dvalishvili sometime towards the end of 2024. So Pantoja will most likely have to wait and see who emerges from the current UFC flyweight roster as a dominant challenger for his next title defense.