Alexandre Pantoja

ANALYSIS
Pantoja has won six consecutive fights and will now look to defend his flyweight title for the third consecutive time against Asakura, who will be making his UFC debut.

ANALYSIS
It was the typical bloody, back-and-forth war we have become accustomed to when Pantoja fights. The Brazilian leaned on his wrestling game time and time again, landing nine total takedowns in the bout. He also had his moments on the feet, but Erceg certainly landed the more notable strikes throughout the course of the bout. The biggest moments of the fight came in Round 5 with the decision in the balance, at which point Pantoja was able to reverse position on Erceg a couple times on the mat, which may have very well been the difference between winning and losing. As great as Pantoja has been of late, and he's now won six straight including a pair of title defenses, it's fair to wonder how long he can keep up this style of fighting. Pantoja is 35 years of age and seems to be relying on grit and determination as much as his many skills. That's a dangerous game to play for an aging fighter.

ANALYSIS
Pantoja, who owns a 27-5 record in MMA and is 11-3 at the UFC level, won the UFC flyweight title in an epic battle against Brandon Moreno back in July. He defended his belt this past December in a unanimous decision win over Brandon Royval, and now he'll aim to extend his reign as the undisputed flyweight champ when facing Erceg. Pantoja is on a five-fight winning streak, and this will also be the first time he fights in Brazil under the UFC banner.

ANALYSIS
Pantoja was in firm control from start to finish in his first title defense. He leaned on his wrestling in a second-round submission win over Royval when the two fought back in August 2021 and successfully went back to the well here. He landed at least one takedown in every round and kept his opponent plastered to the mat for long stretches at a time the entire fight. Pantoja was more active offensively at certain times than others while in a dominant position, but all the takedowns served to limit Royval's ability to generate any offense whatsoever. Pantoja is one of those rare fighters that looks exhausted at times, but still manages to push through. The Brazilian's next challenger has yet to be determined. Brandon Moreno is clearly the best option, but Pantoja has dominated that rivalry thus far. We may be looking at a rising youngster such as Amir Albazi or Muhammad Mokaev getting the next shot.

ANALYSIS
Pantoja recently claimed the UFC Flyweight title after defeating Brandon Moreno in July, but he'll immediately be up for a title defense against Royval later this year. Though Pantoja defeated Royval in their last bout, Royval upset Matheus Nicolau in his last match.