Outside Source
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight titleholder will have an opportunity to reclaim the title against Joshua Van at UFC 331 on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles. He suffered an arm injury early in their first meeting in December last year and has been focused on recovery and his Octagon return ever since.
Alexandre Pantoja says an early arm injury defines his view of first Joshua Van fight
Pantoja believes his title loss is sometimes portrayed as though Van simply beat him, which the Brazilian disputes.
“He not beat me, you know?” Pantoja said in a recent interview. “I know like an athlete, I lose the fight, I know I lose my belt, I’m not my champion anymore, but it’s not someone beat me.”
Pantoja also pointed to his strength of schedule at 125 pounds, noting that he has faced much of the division’s elite, defeated some opponents multiple times and put together an eight-fight winning streak before losing the belt.
“I fight with the best fighters in my division,” Pantoja said. “I fight with the whole Top 10, I beat some guys three times and I have eight wins in a row, you know, with the best fighters.”
However, Pantoja admitted that the lack of recognition doesn’t bother him enough to change his approach.
“I don’t have a lot to recognize, you know, but for me that’s okay,” he said. “What I want is to be the best fighter in the world. I try to be that guy every day in my life, because I’m training very hard. Joshua Van can be sure, I want that fight more than ever.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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