Alexandre Pantoja names toughest opponent for him in flyweight division after UFC 317 win over Kai Kara-France

Alexandre Pantoja knows who could push his limits in the cage. The UFC flyweight champion recently named his toughest opponent and explained why he'd love to take that fight.

Pantoja recently beat Kai Kara-France via third-round submission in the co-main event of UFC 317 in Las Vegas, marking his fourth successful flyweight title defense. After taking the belt off Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 in July 2023, Pantoja defended it against Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, and Kai Asakura.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, the Brazilian discussed Joshua Van and lauded the 23-year-old's tenacity. Van notably beat Bruno Gustavo da Silva at UFC 316 earlier this month before defeating Royval at UFC 317 last weekend. After Helwani asked if Van would be his toughest opponent to date, Pantoja replied:

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

"100%. 100%. He has this young spirit. He don't make a lot of wars like I did in the past. He didn't cut weight like 35 times. This is something, and I love that. He comes with amazing victories... I'm excited about getting back to the gym to train for that guy. It's amazing to have the opportunity to fight someone like him."

Expand Tweet

Joshua Van explains why he's confident of his chances against Alexandre Pantoja

Joshua Van is confident about his chances against Alexandre Pantoja in a potential title fight. The Burmese-American recently shared his two cents on the Brazilian champion and claimed he's ushering in "a new era of fighting."

In the UFC 317 post-fight presser, Van said:

"I just watched his fight to watch because I never studied him. I'm like, one fight at a time. After this, we go back and we're going to study him. This is a new era of fighting... The legacy that he has in this division, just beating him is just going to be greater for my legacy, too."

He continued:

"You know my takedown defense is on point, too. He's never fought Joshua Van. Soon, we're going to find out... I'm Joshua Van. I don't fight like these guys. It's going to be a whole different fight." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Watch Joshua Van's full UFC 317 post-fight presser below:

About the author

Nishant brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his MMA reporting for Sportskeeda. During his 1.5 years with the organization and previous work, Nishant has established himself as a prolific writer in the MMA community. With a Bachelor's degree in Media and Journalism and a Master's degree in International Relations, Nishant's educational background enhances his analytical and reporting skills.

Nishant admires UFC legend Georges St-Pierre for his dominance and exemplary conduct inside and outside the cage. The monumental UFC 229 event, headlined by a grudge match between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, captivated Nishant and solidified his passion for MMA.

Nishant focuses on delivering high-quality content by giving attention to detail, and rigorous fact-checking via multiple layers. His dedication is evident in his achievement of publishing over 1.7K articles and accumulating 4.4 million reads in less than two years.

Nishant feels that it is only a matter of time that MMA takes over Boxing as the no.1 combat sport. Beyond MMA, his interests include philosophy, music exploration, and wildlife photography.

Know More

Follow One Championship News, Schedule & Results at Sportskeeda.

Edited by Nishant Zende.