UFC 301: Farmasi Arena; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Was it an explosive card? No, not really. Was it a card with some fun moments? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, it was the champions pace keeping belt still around the waist of Alexandre Pantoja. In his second-title defense, and his sixth-win in a row; he locked up his 13th-decision win (48-47 2x, 49-46).
It took a while for Steve Erceg to get his legs under him, which ultimately played a key factor in his loss. Pantoja’s come forward boxing set that pace early. And he wins most of those exchanges by doing the little things right. But once Erceg started using his elbows as a range finder, he had a lot of solid moments. However, the over amount of head hunting should have been moving around. If he would have targeted the legs and body more, things might have been different.
But in his fourth UFC fight, he did make a decent showing of himself. So any talk of him not deserving a title shot should go by the waistside. They say you win more from losing. Well this should definitely be the case here.
As far as the champion goes, his scrambling overall might be the best in the division. Having more than five minutes of control time is nice, but it would be nicer to see more of a killer instinct on the ground, despite his ground-and-pound. Because when on the feet, he has that.
Champions Pace Keeps Belt With ATT… But For How Long
Pantoja has had a busy schedule recently, and admitted he’s due for a bit of a vacation. So the rest of the division will now have time to sort itself out. Because quite frankly, there are some red hot fighters about to be on his heels. And all can give him some interesting problems.
Alex Perez decided to take a fight next month against another red hot fighter in Tagir Ulanbekov instead of just sitting and waiting for his name to be called. Perez is more focused now than ever before. And a scrap like that should he defeat the Khabib Nurmagomedov protege will be a slug fest. But once Pantoja gets his mits on you, it’s hard to get them off. But the way both come forward and swing, there might not be a need for the judges. If Ulanbekov keeps winning, well… we all know about Dagestani sambo wrestlers success when titles are up for grabs. It’s just his chin has not been close to tested.
And then there’s “The Prince” Amir Albazi. He has the fire power in his hands to sting Pantoja, and put him down. He can also match him on the ground. And his takedown defense is nothing to poo-poo. So out of the next wave, he might have the best chance to snag the strap. Plus being an Iraqi champion in the UFC would be huge for their country. And quite a storyline.
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