Following his UFC 310 title defense against Kai Asakura this past Saturday, Alexandre Pantoja made an audacious callout to the flyweight GOAT, Demetrious Johnson.
After nearly clearing out the top 10 of the UFC flyweight division, the promotion signed former RIZIN bantamweight champion, Kai Asakura, and granted him an immediate shot at the flyweight title.
Despite that, Alexandre Pantoja proved once again why he is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet by submitting the Japanese striker in round two.
Following the fight, ‘The Cannibal’ called for a massive match against former UFC flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson, despite Johnson having left the promotion several years ago upon retiring from the sport.
Johnson responded to Pantoja’s callout, explaining why he won’t come out of retirement, which disappointed both the Brazilian and a large portion of the fanbase.
Although the 34-year-old won’t get his wish of fighting ‘Mightymouse’ inside the UFC Octagon, Pantoja has sent Johnson a new offer.
“I understand if he doesn’t want to (fight), I have huge respect (for him),” Pantoja explained on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“However, I’ve seen him training right now and I don’t know; maybe that (fight) happens. I just need to train with him. Training with him is something I want because I’m currently training with (Henry) Cejudo, Kyoji Horiguchi, and Adriano Moraes—I fight with a lot of good fighters.”
“That’s something I have dreamed about, fighting with the best fighters in the world. Demetrious Johnson is the best one—he’s so smart. I want to challenge him for that. That’s why I’m fighting, and that’s why I never say no to anybody. Maybe I can text him, and we can train together,” Pantoja stated.
‘Mightymouse’ was recently seen training with Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, which sparked excitement among fans; however, he clarified that he was only there helping out a little bit.
Although Johnson won’t be returning to the UFC to fight the champion, Pantoja may have his next opponent lined up, as former flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, recently called him out.
Figueiredo has recently moved up to the bantamweight division, where he was on a seemingly great run toward title contention. However, he recently suffered his first bantamweight loss against Petr Yan, leading him to consider a return to flyweight.
Despite being off a loss, ‘Deus Da Guerra’ could find himself immediately back in a 125-pound title fight, given that he already holds a win over Pantoja from their first bout in 2019.
“I want that too; that’s one of the fights I want because he already beat me, and I know 100% I can beat him. But that would be a danger for the UFC with him trying to make the weight—maybe it’s a danger for Figueiredo to attempt that because his body has changed.”
“Figueiredo is a monster, that’s why he’s called the God of War. That’s a fight that makes me really excited,” Pantoja stated.
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