Alexandre Pantoja recently secured the flyweight title by defeating Brandon Moreno. Despite his recent victory, Pantoja is already discussing the possibility of moving up to the bantamweight division. He even mentioned the idea of facing Sean O’Malley, who has responded to this callout on social media.
Following his TKO win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292, Sean O’Malley has risen to become one of the promotion’s biggest stars. Pantoja, who once trained with O’Malley, expressed his interest in fighting him for the bantamweight title in an Instagram post. Pantoja stated that O’Malley is the only fighter who could motivate him to move up a weight class.
Sean O’Malley rips Alexandre Pantoja
Pantoja also revealed that O’Malley had recorded a sparring session between them in the past but never shared the video. He added that O’Malley talks a lot and criticized him for not showing the footage. In response, Sean O’Malley addressed the callout, suggesting that it’s unprofessional to call out fighters from lower weight classes.
O’Malley emphasized that he wouldn’t mention knocking out Alexandre Pantoja again, as it’s not respectful to target opponents in lower divisions. However, he confidently stated that he would not hesitate to defeat Pantoja once more. The history between the two fighters, their training background, and the ongoing exchange on social media have sparked interest and speculation among fans about the potential for a future matchup between Pantoja and O’Malley in the bantamweight division.
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) August 24, 2023
The chances of a fight between Pantoja and O’Malley are very low considering O’Malley has bigger fights in bantamweight lined up. Pantoja too has fascinating matchups available in the flyweight division. A fight could happen if Pantoja and O’Malley wipe out their respective divisions.
Alexandre Pantoja hints at a change in weight class
Pantoja’s plan to change weight classes is rooted in fighting Sean O’Malley. The fight can happen but the chances are very low. Pantoja has a list of contenders lined up at flyweight and O’Malley has already called out Marlon Vera.
Pantoja who recently defeated Brandon Moreno to win the title is on 4 fight win streak. His last loss was to Askar Askarov who is not with the UFC anymore. A trilogy fight with Brandon Moreno could happen with Moreno being a popular face in the UFC community. The 33-year-old Brazilian has an exciting style of fighting that is guaranteed to entertain the fans. However, that is not enough to incite an interest in Sean O’Malley.
It’s def not cool to call out ppl below you in weight so I def won’t even mention that I’d knock Alex Pantoja out…. Again
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) August 24, 2023
Other than Moreno, Only Amir Albazi, Manel Kape, and Brandon Royval have the best chance to contend for the flyweight title next. Royval weighed in as a backup for the title fight between Moreno and Pantoja and thus has a bigger chance of getting the title shot. Nevertheless, any matchup is going to provide fireworks in the flyweight division.
Who do you think Pantoja fights next? Can he beat Sean O’Malley? Comment below what you think.
