Former formidable flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja has returned to sparring after his horrible harm at UFC 323. The nasty harm ended an distinctive title reign at 125lbs which had the Brazilian within the conversations among the many biggest of all time, not solely in his division however throughout the game.
If he was profitable towards Joshua Van at UFC 323 it might have been 5 consecutive defences of the 125lbs belt and a possible bounce to 135lbs given his dominance over the flyweight division and all prime contenders. The harm got here from an ungainly touchdown within the first 30 seconds of the title bout after Van had caught a kick from the champion.
Given the severity of the harm and the age of Pantoja many assumed his return on the earliest could be the summer time of this 12 months doubtlessly on the tremendously anticipated White House card. Nonetheless, from social media all can see Pantoja already again in sparring and coaching so a return might come prior to anticipated for ‘The Cannibal’.
When Pantoja returns will probably be for the flyweight title, there is no such thing as a query about that however who would be the champion upon his return. New champion Van is notoriously lively and final 12 months was no completely different from the Myanmar native. The shake up on the prime of the division bleeds lip into the contenders under and will provide a contemporary shot for these whom have failed beforehand. The pair of main challengers are Tatsuro Taira and Manel Kape each bouncing into 2026 in wealthy type and off profession finest victories.
Will the UFC look forward to the return of the previous champion or will the brand new blood compete for flyweight gold first in 2026?
