Flyweight Champion Discusses Returning To Rio De Janeiro To Defend His Title Against Stephen Erceg At UFC 301
Alexandre Pantoja was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro; the Copacabana neighborhood to be exact.
He started fighting professionally when he was 17 years old; another poor kid looking to find a way out of an all too familiar situation, and showed promise early on, winning seven of his first eight appearances before losing to another emerging Brazilian force, Jussier Formiga.
Order UFC 301: Pantoja vs Erceg
Seven straight victories following that setback brought Pantoja to the United States for the first time, where a pair of wins earned him the Resurrection Fighting Alliance title, the distinction of being the first Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) flyweight champion, and a place on Season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter, where he was the top seed in the 16-man tournament to determine who would get to challenge Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight title.