The flyweight championship changed hands on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but it didn’t happen like anyone wanted.
Alexandre Pantoja put his 125-pound championship on the line against top contender Joshua Van in the UFC 323 co-main event. Seconds into the title fight, it was over.
Pantoja came out aggressive, pressuring the challenger. He unleashed a head kick that Van caught. As Pantoja was falling to the canvas, he attempted to brace himself. As the weight of his body came down on his arm, he suffered a gruesome elbow injury. The Brazilian immediately grabbed his arm in pain and waived off the fight.
The referee quickly stepped in and stopped the fight. Van did not follow up with any strikes and was crowned the new UFC flyweight champion. The fight-ending injury occurred just 26 seconds into the contest.
Following the injury and loss, Pantoja released a statement via social media.
“I’ve been through worse. I’ll come back even stronger, you can be sure of that,” he wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for the messages.”
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“That’s what happens, you know, accidents,” Pantoja said in a follow-up video post. “I had the best shape of my life. When I see Joshua on the other side of the octagon I believed I can finish him in the first round. That’s what I tried to do.
“Best camp of my life. Best cut weight. Best everything. I feel so comfortable in the octagon. That’s my octagon. That’s my belt. That’s everything I did in my life, in my whole life to that moment,” continued there former champion.
“It’s not just about myself today. It’s about Joshua Van. Joshua, that’s his destiny to win this belt… I’m going to work very hard. I’ve worked very hard my entire life and I’m going to work again and I”m going to make my belt again. I really appreciate all the messages. Everybody knows about myself. Everybody understands I’m a very respectful guy. I respect first my family, then everything. I’m never going to say any bullish*t about anyone. I just want to work very hard and bring my belt to my home again.”
“We’ll be back sooner than you think!!!!”
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