Alexandre Pantoja gets grilled for "boring," "insomnia-curing" performance by fans despite defending flyweight belt by a significant score margin

While Alexandre Pantoja defeated Brandon Royval via a convincing unanimous decision at UFC 296, fight fans are not too happy with his performance.

Pantoja's power was presenting problems for his opponent from the get-go. However, it was his offensive grappling that sealed the deal for the flyweight champion. Most rounds played out with Pantoja mounting a short offensive on the feet, only to quickly overpower Royval into the ground and keep him there.

That said, Pantoja's ground game, which initially stated as an offensive measure, arguably became a necessity for survival by the end of the fight as he found it challenging to match Royval on the feet.

The grappling-heavy nature of the contest was a turn-off for many fans, who took to social media to show their discontent.

Check out a few fan reactions below:

@brodsky_fit wrote:

"Early prelims performance."

@CodyDwsn opined:

"Wins by surviving."

@lufcsanti joked:

"If [yo]u have insomnia a Pantoja fight might be the cure for you."

@BroImDean claimed:

"It was so boring I fell asleep."

@JuicyH0988 said:

"His coach should have let him strike it out."

@Complex033 wrote:

"Bring back Moreno. What a snooze fest."

@kfuz_ had this to say:

"King of the snoozerweights."

@GuhleSzn suggested:

"Get rid of this division or keep it permanently on fight night cards."

@TheDoctorShun wrote:

"Not my champ! Ground hugger."

@Javier_BcZ opined:

"And STIIIIIL IRRELEVANT."

Screenshots via X

---

Alexandre Pantoja's profound message following the win over Brandon Royval

Alexandre Pantoja is still the king of flyweight, and he made sure to stay humble in victory at UFC 296. The title defense was extremely important for him for greater reasons than just MMA glory.

During his octagon interview with Joe Rogan, 'The Cannibal' stated that the title defense was necessary for his country since Brazil needed idols:

"I need to keep this fight for my family, for Brazil. Brazil needs some idols right now. Brazil is a very hard place, it needs its idols, [to] like to keep your family together. The word in it is family. Keep looking [out] for your home, keep looking [out] for your kids. That's the most important thing in your life."

Catch Alexandre Pantoja's comments below (1:37):