Alexandre Pantoja Outworks Brandon Royval to Retain UFC Flyweight Championship

It’s a successful defense for Alexandre Pantoja.

The 33-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist secured the first defense of his flyweight championship on Saturday, outworking Brandon Royval in a clear decision victory in the co-main event at UFC 296 inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Alexandre Pantoja

Pantoja (27-5) looked gassed midway through the five-round affair, but still managed to dominate Royval (15-7) on the ground en route to unanimous judges scores of 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46.

For Pantoja, it was his second victory over Royval.

The two met as rising contenders in August 2021, with Pantoja winning by submission.

“The fight was maybe boring. I don’t like to do that [kind of fight],” said Pantoja, who racked up nearly 16 minutes of top control, according to UFC Stats. “I needed to keep this belt for my family and Brazil. Brazil needs some [role models] right now. It’s a very hard place right now.”

Royval looked fresh at the end of the five rounds, but he simply had no answer for Pantoja’s grappling. Royval did well landing his jab and obviously commanded Pantoja’s respect on the feet, but he surrendered eight total takedowns — even in later rounds, when it was clear Pantoja was struggling with the pace.

“I felt a little dizzy during this fight,” Pantoja said. “This guy keeps a level that doesn’t stop any time, five rounds. I love that kid. He grew up [since the first fight]. I knew he was coming here to take the belt and I stayed here to defend.”

In addition to just getting Royval to the canvas, Pantoja was also effective at scoring offense and threatening submissions once he had him there. He passed Royval’s guard on several occasions and very nearly tapped him with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round.

Pantoja had his moments on the feet as well. He clipped Royval with a right hand in the second round that left him visibly shaken, and his kicks to the body were a good weapon, particularly earlier in the fight. Royval seized momentum in the fifth with a steady jab, but Pantoja eventually took him down to squash out the threat.

Pantoja has established himself as the clear No. 1 flyweight in the world. In addition to defeating Royval twice, he has defeated former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno three times, including an exhibition fight on The Ultimate Fighter reality series.

Alexandre Pantoja Defeats Brandon Moreno via Split Decision to Claim UFC Flyweight Belt

Alexandre Pantoja is officially a titleholder…

After five hard-fought rounds, the 33-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist (26-5) claimed Brandon Moreno‘s 125-pound championship, as he narrowly edged the defending champion via split decision in the co-main event of UFC 290 inside T-Mobile Arena.

Alexandre PantojaTwo of the judges scored the title fight 48-47 for Pantoja, while a third had it 49-46 in Moreno’s favor.

UFC president Dana White said afterward that Moreno suffered a broken hand in the first round.

Saturday’s bout officially marked Pantoja’s second win over Moreno (21-7-2), although it’s really his third.

Pantoja submitted Moreno in a bout on The Ultimate Fighter reality show in 2016, but that result didn’t count toward their professional records as it took place as part of the show. They fought again in 2018, with Pantoja claiming a unanimous decision.

Saturday’s contest was the closest and most skilled to date.

“Moreno evolved so much,” Pantoja said. “I don’t expect a tough guy like that tonight, but I worked so hard for this. The last two years, I worked so hard, bringing my family to the U.S. [from Brazil] and my camp to American Top Team. … Guys, if you know my story, you’re gonna love me. I’ve worked so hard for that.”

The final numbers of the fight reflected just how close it was. According to UFC Stats, Moreno slightly outlanded Pantoja 167-161 in total strikes. Pantoja did better work on the ground, however. He took Moreno’s back multiple times and racked up more than eight minutes of control time. Moreno proved to be very tricky to hold down, but Pantoja maintained slightly dominant positions in crucial moments, which might have proved key on the scorecards.

Pantoja also dropped Moreno in the opening round with a nasty left hook. Moreno, 29, recovered quickly and never appeared close to going out, but Pantoja hurt him again with another left hook later in the round. Moreno roared back in the second round behind arguably one of the best jabs in MMA. He doubled and tripled up the jab on Pantoja, occasionally ripping in left hooks to the body and head.

Moreno’s shots bloodied Pantoja’s forehead and nose by the third round, but Pantoja’s takedowns, work in the clinch and body shots of his own all made for strong answers to Moreno’s offense. The pace of the fight finally slowed a little in the fourth and fifth rounds when Pantoja worked his way into threatening grappling positions and Moreno was forced into a bit of caution.

The victory snaps a two-fight streak in title fights for Moreno, who is from Tijuana, Mexico.

Earlier this year, he closed out a very rare four-fight rivalry against another Brazilian in Deiveson Figueiredo. Moreno unified the flyweight belt by finishing Figueiredo in the third round of their final meeting in January, but now surrenders the belt in his first attempted defense.

Carla Esparza to Defend UFC Women’s Strawweight Title Against Zhang Weili

Carla Esparza is ready to defend her title…

The 34-year-old part-Mexican and part-Ecuadorian American will face off against Zhang Weili at Madison Square Garden in a UFC women’s strawweight title fight.

Carla Esparza

Esperza, the current champion, and Zhang, the former champ, has been verbally agreed to for UFC 281 on November 12 in New York, according to ESPN.

The fight hasn’t yet been signed, nor officially announced by the UFC. But bout agreements have been sent out, per sources.

Both fighters have posted about the fight on their respective social media accounts. The news of the fight was first reported by MMA reporter Ariel Helwani.

ESPN has Esparza ranked No. 1 in the world at 115 pounds and Zhang at No. 3.

Esparza (19-6) became a two-time UFC women’s strawweight champion when she beat Rose Namajunas via split decision at UFC 274 back in May. The California native was the first-ever UFC women’s strawweight champion, beating Namajunas to win The Ultimate Fighter — and the inaugural belt — in 2014. Esparza, 34, is on a six-fight winning streak.

Zhang (22-3) is coming off a second-round knockout of Joanna Jedrzejczyk in June. The Chinese-born fighter lost the title to Namajunas at UFC 261 in April 2021 and then lost the rematch to Namajunas at Madison Square Garden last November at UFC 268. Zhang, 33, became the first Chinese-born fighter and second Asia-born fighter to win a UFC title when she beat Jessica Andrade to win the 115-pound belt in 2019.

UFC 281 will be headlined by a middleweight title fight between champion Israel Adesanyaand former kickboxing rival and top contender Alex Pereira.

Amanda Nunes to Defend Title Against Julianna Pena in December

Amanda Nunes is set to defend her title in December…

The 33-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist has been scheduled for her bantamweight title defense against Julianna Pena for UFC 269 on December 11, according to the UFC.

Amanda Nunes

Nunes (21-4) was supposed to face Pena (10-4) at UFC 265 earlier this month in Houston, but was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19. The UFC has not announced an official venue for the UFC 265 pay-per-view event, but it is likely to take place in Las Vegas.

Originally from Brazil, now fighting out of South Florida, Nunes is the UFC‘s 135- and 145-pound champion. ESPN ranks her the No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world.

She has not fought since she defended her featherweight title against Megan Anderson in March. She is on a 12-fight win streak.

Pena, of Spokane, Washington, is a former winner of The Ultimate Fighter reality series and holds a 6-2 overall record in the UFC. She earned a title shot by defeating Sara McMann via submission in January.

UFC Star Diego Sanchez to Fight Donald Cerrone This Spring

Diego Sanchez is set to battle a former teammate…

The 39-year-old Mexican American professional mixed martial artist and Donald Cerrone, two of the biggest fan favorites in UFC history — and a pair of former teammates — will fight this spring.

Diego Sanchez

Sanchez and Cerrone have verbally agreed to a May 8 contest, according to ESPN.

The bout will be contested at welterweight, sources said.

While both fighters’ respective teams have agreed, no contracts have been signed and the fight has not yet been officially announced.

Sanchez wrote Thursday on Twitter that the bout against Cerrone will be his “UFC finale.”

Sanchez and Cerrone were training partners for many years at the storied JacksonWink MMA gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but had a falling out in 2018 when Cerrone left the team. Sanchez has since left JacksonWink MMA, as well.

In 2005, Sanchez (30-13) in 2005 was the first-ever tournament winner on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show, which is credited with helping take the UFC to the next level in terms of popularity. His 2009 fight with Clay Guida was inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame’s fight wing in 2019.

Sanchez is tied for the second most Fight of the Night bonuses in UFC history (7). The New Mexico native is coming off a loss to Jake Matthews at UFC 253 in September, but has won three of his last five fights.

Cerrone (36-15, 2 NC) is a surefire future UFC Hall of Famer and one of the best fighters of all time who has not held a UFC title. “Cowboy” owns the most wins in UFC history (23), the most finishes in UFC history (16) and the most post-fight bonuses in promotion history (18). He is tied for the most UFC fights with Jim Miller (36). Cerrone, 36, is winless in five straight and trying to pick up his first victory since May 2019.