Alexandre Pantoja teases fight against huge name "nobody will expect" in near future: "Very good for my career, it's huge for me"

By Jaren Kawada

Modified Jun 29, 2024 23:14 GMT

Alexandre Pantoja (pictured) teases his next title defense. [Image courtesy: @pantoja_official on Instagram]

Just one month after defending his title against Steve Erceg at UFC 301, UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja is teasing his next fight in the fall. Pantoja said he could not reveal any specific details but claimed he had already lined everything up with the promotion.

When speaking to reporters at the 2024 UFC Hall of Fame ceremony, Pantoja said he "expects" a fight in "two or three months." To add more excitement, 'The Cannibal' said it would be a "huge" fight with an opponent that nobody would expect.

Pantoja said:

"[The] UFC has already talked to me. We expect something in in two [or] three months. I [cannot] say anything right now but it's gonna be huge for everyone and [with] one name that I think nobody will expect. I'm super glad with the name. Very good for my career, it's huge for me."

Check out Alexandre Pantoja's comments below:

Expand Tweet

Renowned journalist James Lynch questioned Pantoja on whether the unnamed fighter was the newly signed Kai Asakura but the champion did nothing other than say he wants to fight "all" flyweight contenders.

Following his win over Erceg, the 34-year-old owns wins over five of the 10 top-ranked flyweight contenders.

Alexandre Pantoja's championship run

Since becoming the 125-pound champion at UFC 290, Alexandre Pantoja has twice defended his title with wins over Steve Erceg and Brandon Royval. Once July passes, Pantoja will have held the divisional title for one full year.

As a champion, Pantoja owns a record of 3-0 in title fights including his crowning moment at UFC 290 when he dethroned Brandon Moreno.

Expand Tweet

Overall, 'The Cannibal' has not lost a fight since dropping a unanimous decision to Askar Askarov in 2020. The win over Erceg extended his current win streak to six.

Given his relative dominance over the flyweight division, Pantoja does not have a set-in-stone no. 1 contender to face, making his announcement teaser truly open for interpretation.