Las Vegas, Nevada – December 07: Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil poses for a portrait after his win … [+]
UFC men’s flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja is seemingly looking for challenges after he nearly cleaned up his division.
If you ask former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, Pantoja shouldn’t consider moving to Bantamweight, at least not while Merab Dvalishvili is holding the title.
Las Vegas, Nevada – December 07: Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil in Interviewed by Joe Rogan behind him … [+]
Whittaker discussed the possibility in a recent episode of his Masked Podcast. Whittaker was asked by co-host Jonny Roses who would win if Pantoja moved up in weight to challenge Merabi for his bantamweight title.
“I love Pantoja, but Merab kills it, kills it,” Whittaker said. “If Panto goes to Merab, Merab kills it … bad. I love panto. He’s won me over a lot. He’s killed the division, but I don’t think Merab is where his dual belt is.”
Dvalishvili would seemingly be a terrible matchup for Pantoja. While Cardio is not an Achilles heel for Pantoja, there may not be anyone in the history of the sport with a deeper gas tank than Dvalishvili.
Inglewood, California – January 18: Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili reacts after a decision win … [+]
What we saw the Georgian do against Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 was legendary. Dvalishvili’s pace, wrestling and strength may be too much for the Brazilian.
Against Panto, Dvalishvili would enjoy something he never gets at Bantamweight: a size advantage.
Dvalishvili is not only an inch taller at 5-foot-6, but he’s also a naturally thicker built man who would almost certainly be the biggest guy in the Octagon.
If Sean O’Malley and Nurmagomedov couldn’t get the better of Dvalishvili in the stand-up, it’s unlikely that Pantoja would find success in that area of the fight.
While Pantoja’s submission skills are arguably superior to Dvalishvili’s, the latter’s wrestling and power should allow him to hold his own in any catch situation.
Honestly, there can’t currently be a fighter who matches up well with Dvalishvili at flyweight or bantamweight.
Remember, Dvalishvili has already faced and beaten most of the top ranked guys in his division. As for Pantoja, he is coming off a successful title defense against Kai Asakura in the main event of UFC 310 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in December 2024.
He called out former flyweight king Demetrious Johnson during his post-fight interview. Johnson quickly shot down the idea, saying he was happy staying retired and being a YouTube content creator.
Rising contenders like Tatsuro Taira, ASU Almabayev, Tagir Ulabekov, Charles Johnson and Joshua Van could be next. However, perennial contenders and former champions like Brandon Royval, Brandon Moreno, Manel Kape, Kai Kara-France, and others would love another chance to destroy Pantoja.
What’s next for the UFC?
There are no men’s flyweight fights scheduled for the next UFC card. However, there are two notable knockout middleweight scraps for the February 1 card in Saudi Arabia.
- Israel Adesanya vs Nassourdine IMAVOV – Middleweight (185 lbs)
- Sharabutdin Magomedov vs Michael Page – Middleweight (185 lbs)
- Sergei Pavlovich vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik – Heavyweight (265 lbs)
- Tha Nurmagomedov vs Vinicius Oliveira – Bantamweight (135 lbs)
- Ikram Aliskerov vs André Muniz – Middleweight (185 lbs)
- Muhamed Naimov vs Kaan Ofli – Featherweight (145 lbs)
- Shamil Gaziev vs Thomas Petersen – Heavyweight (265 lbs)
- Terrance McKinney vs Damir Hadžović – Lightweight (155 lbs)
- Ziam vs Mike Davis Fees – Lightweight (155 lbs)
- Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Mayra Bueno Silva – Flyweight (125 lbs)
- Bogdan Grad vs L. Alexander – Featherweight (145 lbs)
- Hamdy Abdelwahab vs Jamal Pogues – Heavyweight (265 lbs)
- Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs Bolaji Oki-Lightweight (155 lbs)