Alexandre Pantoja Believes UFC 301 Was “Watershed Moment” For Flyweights
During the UFC 301 post-fight press conference, Pantoja said that UFC 301 showed fans and experts just how stacked the 125-pound division is (h/t MMAJunkie).
“I’ve always said this division is entirely tough,” Pantoja said at the UFC 301 post-fight news conference. “You can take the 10th-ranked guy and have him fight against the champion and you guys saw exactly that tonight. This division is all about work. You can’t move up in the rankings just by talking. I’m really happy to see this. I think it was a watershed moment for the division. We’ve been having main events in Mexico. There was a main event last week between flyweights, so I’m very happy to see this moment.”
Erceg didn’t make things easy for Pantoja, but the champion felt confident that he would have his hand raised as UFC Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer was reading the score totals.
“I think I clearly won the first three rounds of the fight,” Pantoja said. “The fourth round could’ve been his. The fifth round was mine. I definitely think it was 4-1. That guy was very tough. It’s what we say. This is a guy from Australia, a guy that’s very tough, a guy that people didn’t really know, and he came in there to die. He was prepared to die. I think that’s what it’s all about when you fight for the championship.”
