Newly minted UFC flyweight world champion Alexandre Pantoja was still working as an Uber driver two fights before stepping into the co-main event spotlight at UFC 290 on Saturday night.
Pantoja proved that he still had Brandon Moreno’s number, besting the Mexican-born fan favorite in a five-round war to capture the 125-pound crown. Less than 48 removed from his title victory, Pantoja appeared on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani to discuss his Fight of the Year contender with ‘The Assassin Baby’ and how it feels to finally have a world title wrapped around his waist.
During their conversation, ‘The Cannibal’ revealed that not long ago, he was doing Uber Eats food deliveries to make extra money for his family while they struggled to survive through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“After the pandemic and after my fight with Manel [Kape] I gave some money to my family. They moved back to Brazil and I came back to the U.S. alone. It was like like eight months without my family and that’s very hard for me. Sometimes I talk with my wife [about] I don’t know if I can be a daddy again because eight months without my kids, that’s very hard for me. That’s about sacrifice for me.
“I won the fight with Manel and I put all the money on a down payment for the house and brought my family back. That was more important for myself, but when my family was back, the money was short and my wife started to clean houses and I started to drive Uber. I’d do it again if I need. This isn’t about just myself. It’s about my family. It’s about my kids, my two boys.”
As it turns out, Pantoja was delivering Uber Eats a week before his bout with Brandon Royval in August 2021.
Alexandre Pantoja getting all the love from his ATT teammates 👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/2LBYpu9HLI
— Jason Williams (@jasoneg33) July 10, 2023
Alexandre Pantoja Comments on Controversial Scorecard in Favor of Brandon Moreno
Alexandre Pantoja narrowly saw his very clear world-title win slip away after presiding judge Ben Cartlidge turned in an absolutely absurd 49-46 scorecard in favor of Brandon Moreno. Fortunately, the other two judges had their eyes open during the entirety of the fight and scored it 48-47 in favor of Pantoja.
Asked about his mindset after hearing the one scorecard for Moreno, Pantoja said:
“In that moment, I thought somebody was going to take that belt off me,” Pantoja said. “In my mind… I’m fighting for a long time. I know how the judges score the fights. I know how the fight comes and I’m so sure I won the fight. I’m one of the guys having my feet on the ground. I’m not somebody who likes to take something I don’t deserve, but in that moment, I know I won the fight. But when the judges said a score for Moreno… I think that’s a unanimous decision. Everyone can see I won the fight.”
As for who he would like to face next, ‘The Cannibal’ believes fans would enjoy a rematch between himself and Moreno to close out their trilogy inside the Octagon.
“I think everyone would want to watch that fight again,” Pantoja said.
