Alexandre Pantoja still keen on potential Sean O’Malley fight
UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja has expressed his continued interest in facing off against bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley.
The two fighters had a public exchange last September regarding a sparring session from 2017, each with their own side of the story.
Pantoja, who holds a record of 27-5 in MMA and 11-3 in the UFC, is set to defend his flyweight title against Steve Erceg (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in the UFC 301 main event on May 4 in Rio. Should he be successful, Pantoja is open to the idea of moving up to challenge O’Malley, who boasts a record of 18-1 in MMA and 10-1 in the UFC.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Pantoja stated, “I can fight at 135, definitely. But everybody knows I’m small. I’m not too big, you know. I’m really a flyweight guy, and I’m just thinking about going to the bantamweight to fight with O’Malley. That’s a good history I have with him.”
Pantoja commended O’Malley for his impressive performance against Marlon Vera at UFC 299, stating, ”He looked perfect. How ‘Chito’ keeps fighting at that pace, that’s crazy, you know. The knees O’Malley throwing at ‘Chito,’ ‘Chito’ is very tough guy, brother.”
While Pantoja is willing to move up a weight class to face O’Malley, he clarified that it would be solely for a fight against him, saying, “Maybe after the second title defense I’m very open for that opportunity, but just for O’Malley. I don’t want to go through the bantamweight and fight with some Umar Nurmagomedov.”
For more information on this event and others, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.
Summary:
Alexandre Pantoja expresses his desire to move up to the bantamweight division to challenge Sean O’Malley after defending his flyweight title. Pantoja commends O’Malley’s performance and is focused on a potential future showdown with him.
