Alexandre Pantoja is ready to step in and compete for the UFC flyweight championship on July 18 if the company needs him.
“The Cannibal” faces Askar Askarov earlier that night on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island, and told MMA Fighting he’s the backup fighter in case something happens to either Deiveson Figueiredo or Joseph Benavidez, who rematch for the vacant belt in the main event. Ag. Fight first reported the news.
“They fought before and the division was stuck because of (Figueiredo’s) weight,” Pantoja said. “And it wouldn’t make any sense for me to fight anyone else unless I was the backup fighter in this fight in case the same thing happened again.