Outside Source
The second-longest reign of any UFC men’s flyweight champion came to an inglorious end at UFC 323 in December, when Pantoja’s arm snapped early in what was to be his fifth consecutive title defense against Joshua Van. The Brazilian recovered apparently without requiring surgery to repair the damage, which included tendons and ligaments but no fractured bone. Much has been speculated about his return to action, and Sherdog spoke to Pantoja’s chief coach at American Top Team, Marcos da Matta, about his top fighter.
“He did the first light sparring today,” “Parrumpa” revealed the good news on Tuesday. “Everybody was able to see how hard the injury was, two months ago. But Pantoja is such a focused person, he worked hard to heal since day one. He can’t wait to return and [get a finish] against Joshua Van.”
You Bet I’ll Be Coming Up in May
The coach was not so ebullient as to suggest that this spelled an immediate comeback, but instead noted that there is still plenty of recovery time left for Pantoja. “Parrumpa” expects at least two months more will be needed for the flyweight to regain full strength in his damaged limb, and plans on forcing the soon-to-be 36-year-old take as much time as he needs to get back to form.
“If he returns [in] May, the revenge must be done,” the coach pitched. “In case he needs more time, probably [for the] UFC, I see [Manel] Kape and [Tatsuro] Taira with more chances to fight for the belt, with Kyoji [Horiguchi] coming in third place. The fact is that the same way lightweight depends on [Ilia] Topuria, flyweight depends on Pantoja.”
Flush with news about his fighters, coach da Matta could not help but reveal additional information about one of his other athletes he trains at ATT: Renato “Money” Moicano. Per the ATT chief, “Moicano” will remain on the UFC 326 billing, giving credence to the unconfirmed reports that Esteban Ribovics will step in to replace the injured Brian Ortega.
“‘Moicano’ is in good shape. He is doing the same camp like Ortega did not withdraw. We talked to [UFC Chief Business Officer] Hunter [Campbell] this week and UFC must decide his future [by] the end of the week. ‘Moicano’ is the [10th-ranked UFC lightweight]. He will not fight [just to fight], to get the paycheck. Also, he is coming [off of] two defeats. He wants a fight that makes sense for this point of his career,” “Parrumpa” concluded.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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