With Blood in His Eyes, Alexandre Pantoja Becomes UFC Champion

Ahead of his title defense against Brandon Royval at UFC 296, Alexandre Pantoja reflects on winning the flyweight title

A bloodied, battered Alexandre Pantoja defeated Brandon Moreno for the flyweight title this past July at UFC 290.

It looked like the fight of Pantoja’s life. But looks deceive. Even with blood in eyes, Pantoja could see with clarity what was unfolding.

“Brandon Moreno was a fighting champion, and I respect him,” said Pantoja (26-5), who won the five-round title bout by split decision. “I needed my whole heart to beat him. But as tough as that was, I have been through a lot of tough battles in life.”

In the bout against Moreno, Pantoja entered the championship rounds for the first time in his career. Yet that was nothing compared to the anguish of his father leaving his family.

“My mom and my dad divorced when I was young,” said Pantoja, who called out his father in an emotional moment in the Octagon after he won the fight. “My dad drank too much, and I remember when he was aggressive with my mom.

“When I won the belt, I wanted to put my mom on top of the world. I was so emotional, and that’s why I said what I did. I love my dad, and I know he loves me. I’m not here to judge him. I just wanted to say something about my mom, who worked so hard to give a good life to myself and my brothers.”

The fight against Moreno did not cause Pantoja to swallow his pride. But that was what he did during the pandemic when he needed extra money to provide for his family. The UFC fighter started working as a driver for Uber Eats, respectfully rejecting offers from friends to help with his finances.

“Some people close to me heard what I was doing and said, ‘Why don’t you ask for help?’” said Pantoja. “I could not do that. I don’t want to ask someone else for help when I can help myself.”

Pantoja, who defends his flyweight championship against Brandon Royval this December in Vegas at UFC 296, nearly put away Moreno in the first round. But that is not his story. Moreno fought back and came incredibly close to victory, forcing a fatigued Pantoja to embrace the fact that his ascent to the title needed to be one where he overcame hardship.

“My whole life has been hard,” said Pantoja, who still found a way to take Moreno’s back in the fifth round, effectively sealing his victory. “It wouldn’t have meant as much if I finished him in the first round. It needed to be a struggle.

“My journey is represented through this title belt. I don’t need the belt to prove I am a champion. I have my wife and my kids, and they are most important to me. I have the respect of my training partners and coaches. I love my life. But with this belt, we can all be the champion together. I want my coach [Matta ‘Parrumpa’ Marcos da Matta] to be recognized as coach of the year. Now there is more attention on him. That is what the belt does. The belt represents all the sacrifices we have all made to get here.”

With two victories–and a third if you include their bout on The Ultimate Fighter–over Moreno, Pantoja now turns his attention to Royval. He defeated him in the summer of 2021 in a fight that was awarded the Performance of the Night, and he will need to display a rare fighting spirit in order to defeat him again.

“I proved I am the champion,” said Pantoja. “Now I need to prove that I can stay that way.”

As he prepares for the bout against Royval at 296, Pantoja intends to embrace the lessons learned in his all-out battle against Moreno.

“Late in that fight, there was blood in my eyes and I couldn’t see, but I knew exactly what to do,” said Pantoja. “I’ll always remember that moment. I’ll always be thankful to God for the strength He gave me. Now, as champion, I see there is a lot more to accomplish.”