Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight kingpin Alexandre
Pantoja is only a few short months away from returning to
competition.
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.