Alexandre Pantoja Poised To Defend His Well-Deserved Throne

All too often in this sport, victories are picked apart and heavily scrutinized — fans and media eager to diminish a given performance for any number of reasons, instantly working to lessen the impact of a hard-earned triumph to avoid giving the victor too much credit for their efforts.

But it’s impossible to do that with Pantoja’s title-winning effort against Moreno because, as he said, the champion was on point that evening, with one official and many others that watched the tense, back-and-forth battle believing he had done enough to merit the victory.

WATCH: UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja Breaks Down The 125-Pound Division

Given the difficult road he traveled to finally reach the top of the flyweight ranks, the 32-year-old Brazilian titleholder didn’t want anything but the best version of his former Ultimate Fighter housemate. He took pride in pushing Moreno to be better by defeating him twice earlier in their careers and relished the opportunity to show that while the Mexican standout had clearly elevated his game, he has as well.

And he feels the same way heading into his clash with Royval this weekend.

“I respect Royval a lot, and I expect the best Royval ever,” he said in regard to the man that will stand opposite him on Saturday night, looking to end his title reign before it ever really gets started. “It’s a big opportunity to fight with guys at this high level.”

Just like with Moreno, Pantoja has a history with Royval.

The two men faced off in the summer of 2021, with Pantoja collecting a second-round submission win over the Factory X representative; scoring his second consecutive victory while handing Royval a second straight defeat as the two men’s paths momentarily diverged.

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It was following that contest that Pantoja looked outside the Octagon and politely asked Moreno if he would like to face him in December for the title, playfully mentioning his prior results over the then-champion, who was cageside working on the Spanish broadcast, before praising Moreno for the work he’d done since their last meeting.

Since that summer evening at the UFC APEX, Pantoja has earned two more victories after recovering from knee surgery, finally getting that championship fight with Moreno and taking his place on the flyweight throne. Royval has fought three times, following up a split decision win over Rogerio Bontorin with consecutive first-round finishes of Matt Schnell and Matheus Nicolau to secure this rematch with the newly minted champion.

“Brandon Royval is a very phenomenal fighter, I’m very excited to fight with him again,” said the Brazilian, who carries a 26-5 record and four-fight winning streak into his first title defense on Saturday night. “He has a lot of skills, he’s coming from three victories, two bonuses, and it’s gonna be awesome to fight with him this time because his level has come up, and I’m excited to be a part of that.

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“I feel more relaxed this time. I put pressure on myself because I know how much Royval wants that belt because my last fight was for the belt; I know about motivation.

“I feel a little bad because I know how much this kid worked for this moment,” he added. “But I need to prove how good I am, for myself.”

He genuinely means that, too.

In a sport where most are unconcerned or unaware of the wants and feelings of others, the UFC flyweight champion earnestly carries some regret that he has to dash the championship hopes of the man that will stand opposite him this weekend at the T-Mobile Arena.

While most try to tell themselves they’re different — that no one else struggled the way they did, wants it as bad as they do, works as diligently as they do — Pantoja sees the commonality between himself and his contemporaries; praising them for their performances, acknowledging the effort that went into reaching this position, and understanding the harsh, but simple reality that in order for one person’s dreams to come true, another’s have to be dashed, and he doesn’t take any of it lightly.

“I’m a true fighter and a true guy — I just tell the truth all the time,” he said. “I’m still with my feet on the ground. I know December 16th I have a big fight coming, and I appreciate the opportunity.