After a successful UFC comeback, Alexandre Pantoja may soon be facing a competitor that he is very familiar with.
In June, it was immediately clear that Pantoja’s next flyweight title challenger would be Joshua Van following their face-off inside the Octagon.
Both men produced impressive wins on the same night at UFC 317 to make the promotion’s decision regarding what is next for the champion incredibly simple.
Pantoja will face Van in the UFC 323 main event, but before that happens, a new competitor in the flyweight class has arrived and called out the champion.
It was a surprise for many, since they were close colleagues at American Top Team.
Islam Makhachev has ruled out one competitor for his first shot at the welterweight championship
UFC 323 fight cards
Merab Dvalishvili vs Petr Yan 2 – bantamweight title fight
Alexandre Pantoja vs Joshua Van – flyweight title fight
Brandon Moreno vs Tatsuro Taira
Henry Cejudo vs Payton Talbott
Jan Blachowicz vs Bogdan Guskov
Grant Dawson vs Manuel Torres
Terrance McConney vs Chris Duncan
Maycee Barber vs Karine Silva
Fares ziam vs Nazim Sadikhov
Marvin Vettori vs Brunno Ferreira
Edson Barboza vs Jalin Turner
Iwo Baraniewski vs Ibo Aslan
Mansur Abdul-Malik vs Antonio Trocolo
Muhammad Naimov vs Mairon Santos
Alexandre Pantoja, a teammate of Kyoji Horiguchi, is ready to engage in trash-talk with him
Kyoji Horiuchi announced his return to promotion in October after spending nine years away from the Octagon.
The 41-fight veteran produced a dominant display against Tagirullanbekov Saturday night, earning him the #8 position at 125 pounds.
Horiguchi, who had just returned from a successful fight, made a funny post-fight interview in which he called out Alexandre Pantoja, his teammate.
Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images
Pantoja recently spoke with MMA Junkie about his reaction to the career of his teammate.
2025-11-25 14:16:41
