Alexandre Pantoja already has the date and location for his next title defense. According to the flyweight champ, his next bout will be in Rio de Janeiro on May 4. As for his opponent, the fighter remains mum, with his eligible challenger, Brandon Moreno, already booked for a fight.
Pantoja successfully defended his title against Brandon Royval at UFC 296 in a co-headliner bout last December. With this, questions about his match started. Surprisingly, the Brazilian revealed that some of the details of his next title defense are already settled.
In an event with a Brazilian soccer team, the champ shared that he will fight in May in his own homeland.
“I’ll be defending the belt in Rio on May 4,” he said.
This follows the fighter’s request in December to UFC CEO Dana White to have his next bout in Rio. As Pantoja shared, he has never fought in Brazil before despite being featured in other parts of the world, adding his country needs a model in this new generation of MMA.
“I try to be a new idol for Brazil,” the champ explained last month. “I said that all week. Brazil needs good idols. They need good heroes right now. Some guys respect their opponents. Some guys bring your family up all the time. This cut weight [sic] I had my young son by my side. He helped me a lot. I made good work as a parent, a husband, a father. I tried to give this (perspective) for the world.”
Despite his revelation, Pantoja didn’t share any other details about his next opponent, suggesting it is the part of the match that is still not finalized. In the past, the champ expressed interest in having a fourth fight with Moreno, whom he defeated to get the belt, but the fighter is currently booked to face Royval in Mexico City next month. And with class weight having a pretty limited set of options, the name of his next opponent might take time to be announced.
