Summary
Pantoja at the UFC press conference. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/pantoja_oficial
Out of action after suffering a bizarre injury in UFC 323, Alexandre pantoja seeks to regain the flyweight title (up to 56,7 kg), currently held by Joshua VanHowever, even though the arm injury impacted spectators during the fight, the Rio native is showing great improvement in his quest to reclaim the crown. According to Marcos Da Matta, aka Parrumpinha, his protégé has already returned to his normal form. sparring and may return in the first half of the year.
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In an interview last Tuesday (11) with 'MMA Insight', Parrumpa explained that Pantoja's progress has been good and that the first training session with a little more contact was done this week.
"He did his first light sparring session today. Everyone could see how serious the injury was two months ago. But Pantoja is a very focused person, he's worked hard to recover since day one. He can't wait to come back and finish the fight against..." Joshua Van“, revealed the coach, who has been in the former champion's corner for over a decade.
Alexandre pantoja is on the road to recovery 💪
“You don't understand what kinda man I am.”
(via @Pantojamma) pic.twitter.com/TT5ZLWoJft
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) December 12, 2025
Speaking about the fighter's future and the rest of the division, Parrumpa expressed confidence in an immediate rematch should the Rio native return in the first half of the year. However, he also sees the possibility of other names being prioritized.
“If he comes back in May, the rematch needs to happen. If he needs more time, I see (Manel) Kape and (Tatsuro) Taira with better chances of fighting for the belt, with Kyogi (Horiguchi) in third place. The fact is, just as the lightweight division depends on (Ilia) Topuria, the flyweight division depends on Pantoja,” he concluded.
Parrumpinha next to Pantoja at ATT. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/parrumpaatt
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