Alexandre Pantoja Passidomo (born April 16, 1990) is a Brazilian professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. He currently competes in the

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC), where he is the current UFC Flyweight Champion. As of April 15, 2025, he is #10 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.

Mixed martial arts career

The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions

On May 11, 2016, the UFC announced that the 16 contestants for the season of this TUF would be flyweight champion fighters from various organizations around the world, with the winner being expected to have a chance to fight for the flyweight title against

Demetrious Johnson Demetrious Khrisna Johnson (born August 13, 1986) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was the inaugural and former UFC Flyweight C ...

. The cast was announced on July 20. The coaches for the season were the former challengers to the flyweight belt,

Joseph Benavidez Joseph Rolando Benavidez (born July 31, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Flyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He fought for the UFC Flyweight championship four times. ...

and

Henry Cejudo Henry Carlos Cejudo (born February 9, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC ...

, and Pantoja was from Team Cejudo. He was ranked # 1 in Team Cejudo, and made his first fight against # 16 Team Benavidez, Brandon Moreno. The two came to interact within the house, even with Pantoja speaking Portuguese and Brandon Moreno speaking

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, the similarity between languages facilitated communication. In the fight, Alexandre Pantoja defeated Brandon Moreno by submission in the second round. With this victory, Pantoja went to the quarterfinals of the reality show. Pantoja faced fellow team Cejudo member

Kai Kara-France James Kaiwhare "Kai" Kara-France (born 26 March 1993) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 5 December 2023, he is #4 in the UFC f ...

in the quarterfinals, defeating him by unanimous decision and progressing through to the semifinals. Pantoja faced

Hiromasa Ougikubo is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing as a flyweight in the Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional since 2006, he has also competed for Shooto, Vale Tudo Japan, and The Ultimate Fighter. He is the former Shooto World Bant ...

in the semifinals of the tournament and was defeated by unanimous decision, and it was soon announced that he had contracted with the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Alexandre made his promotional debut on January 28, 2017, at UFC on Fox 23 against Eric Shelton. He won the fight via split decision. Pantoja faced

Neil Seery Neil Seery (born 30 August 1979) is a retired Irish professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Flyweight (MMA), flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC. Beginning his career in 2005, Seery also co ...

on July 16, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 113. He won the fight via submission in the third round. Pantoja faced Dustin Ortiz on January 20, 2018 at

UFC 220 ''UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on January 20, 2018, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between curren ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Pantoja faced Brandon Moreno on May 19, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 129. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Pantoja faced Ulka Sasaki on November 17, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 140. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Pantoja faced

Wilson Reis Wilson Reis (born January 6, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. Reis is the former EliteXC Bantamweight Champion and has also competed for UFC, Bellator, ShoXC and Cage Warriors. Reis also appeared ...

on April 13, 2019 at

UFC 236 ''UFC 236: Holloway vs. Poirier 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on April 13, 2019 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Background In the United States, per an extension of its new r ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Pantoja faced

Deiveson Figueiredo Deiveson Alcântara Figueiredo (born December 18, 1987) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has also competed in the Flyweight divis ...

on July 27, 2019 at

UFC 240 ''UFC 240: Holloway vs. Edgar'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 27, 2019 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Background A UFC Featherweight Championship bout betwee ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the '' Fight of the Night'' award. Pantoja faced

Matt Schnell Matthew Christopher Schnell (born January 15, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Schnell formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Alliance ...

on December 21, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 165 ''UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. The Korean Zombie'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 165'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 23'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 21, 2019 at Sajik Arena in ...

. He won the fight via first-round knockout. The win also earned Pantoja his first ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Pantoja faced Askar Askarov at

UFC Fight Night 172 ''UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 172'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 30'' and ''UFC Fight Island 2'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 19, 2020 ...

on July 19, 2020. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Pantoja was expected to face promotional newcomer and the former

Rizin FF Rizin Fighting Federation (stylised in all caps and also known as Rizin FF) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. Fo ...

Bantamweight champion Manel Kape on December 19, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 183. However Pantoja pulled out of the fight in early December for undisclosed reasons. The fight eventually took place on February 6, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 184 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 184'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 42'' and ''UFC Vegas 18'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 6, 2021 at the UF ...

. Pantoja won the fight via unanimous decision. Pantoja faced

Brandon Royval Brandon Matthew Royval (born August 16, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Royval has also formerly compet ...

on August 21, 2021 UFC on ESPN 29. He won the fight via rear-naked choke in round two. With this win, Pantoja earned the Performance of the Night award. Pantoja was meant to fight for the UFC flyweight title but a knee injury forced him out of it. Pantoja faced Alex Perez on July 30, 2022, at

UFC 277 ''UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 30, 2022, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Women's Bantamweight Cha ...

. He won the fight via a neck crank submission early in the first round. The win also earned Pantoja his third '' Performance of the Night'' award.

UFC Flyweight Champion

Pantoja rematched Brandon Moreno on July 8, 2023 at UFC 290 for the

UFC Flyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

. Pantoja came out victorious via split decision, winning the bout and the title. This fight earned him the '' Fight of the Night'' award. In his first title defense, Pantoja faced

in a rematch on December 16, 2023, at UFC 296. He successfully defended his title, winning the bout via unanimous decision. Pantoja faced Steve Erceg on May 4, 2024, at UFC 301. He won and successfully defended his title via unanimous decision. Pantoja made his third

title defense against former two-time Rizin Bantamweight Champion and promotional newcomer

Kai Asakura is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He previously competed in Rizin Fighting Federation, where he was the Rizin Bantamweight Champion. A professional si ...

on December 7, 2024 at

UFC 310 ''UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 7, 2024, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States. Backgroun ...

. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round. This fight earned him another '' Performance of the Night'' award. Pantoja was reportedly going to make his fourth title defense against

on April 12, 2025, at UFC 314. However, for unknown reasons, the bout was reportedly moved to June 7, 2025 at UFC 316 but never came to fruition. The bout is reportedly scheduled for June 28, 2025 at UFC 317.

Personal life

Pantoja is married and has two sons. After winning the UFC Flyweight Championship at UFC 290, Pantoja revealed in the post-fight interview that his father had abandoned his family, leaving his mother to raise him and his two brothers alone, and (facing the camera) asked his father if he was proud of him now.

Championships and accomplishments

(One time, current) ***Three successful title defenses ***Second most title fight wins in UFC Flyweight division history (4) ** Fight of the Night (Two times) ** Performance of the Night (Four times) ***Tied (

) for third most Post-Fight bonuses in UFC Flyweight division history (6) **Tied (

) for most finishes in UFC Flyweight division history (7) **Tied (

) for most submissions in UFC Flyweight division history (5) ***Tied (

John Moraga John Anthony Moraga (born March 20, 1984) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competes as a flyweight and featherweight in MMA and boxing, respectively. He is best known for his lengthy career in the Ultimate Fighting ...

) for fourth most submission attempts in UFC Flyweight division history (12) **Tied (

) for most wins in UFC Flyweight division history (13) **Tied ( Muhammad Mokaev) for second longest win streak in UFC Flyweight division history (7) **Tied (

Jussier Formiga Jussier Formiga (born April 14, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Formiga most notably competed in the UFC and is the former Shooto South America 123-pound cham ...

) for fourth most bouts in UFC Flyweight division history (16) **Third most takedowns landed in UFC Flyweight division history (37) **Third most significant strikes in UFC Flyweight division history (893) ***Fifth most total strikes in UFC Flyweight division history (1091) **Fifth most total fight time in UFC Flyweight division history (3:22:26) **Fourth most control time in UFC Flyweight division history (1:01:59) **Fourth most top position time in UFC Flyweight division history (46:45) **UFC Honors Awards *** 2023: President's Choice Fight of the Year Nominee **UFC.com Awards *** 2023: Ranked #5 Fighter of the Year & Ranked #2 Fight of the Year vs. Brandon Moreno 2 ***2024: Ranked #8 Fighter of the Year & Ranked #7 Submission of the Year vs.

Resurrection Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merger in 2016. History Resu ...

**RFA Flyweight Championship (One time) **AXS TV Flyweight Superfight Championship (One time) * MMAJunkie.com **2019 July Fight of the Month

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 29–5 ,

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Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

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Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 296 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 25–5 , Alex Perez , Submission (neck crank) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:31 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–5 , Askar Askarov , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 22–4 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. The Korean Zombie , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:17 ,

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, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 21–3 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 ,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–3 , Ulka Sasaki , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:18 ,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina , , - , Win , align=center, 19–3 , Brandon Moreno , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Chile , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–3 , Dustin Ortiz , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:31 ,

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, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 17–2 , Eric Shelton , Decision (split) , UFC on Fox: Shevchenko vs. Peña , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–2 ,

Damacio Page Damacio Page (born September 30, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division. Page competed for the WEC, the UFC, LFA, Pancrase, King of the Cage, and also fought at K-1 Premium Dyna ...

, Technical Submission (triangle choke) , RFA vs. Legacy FC 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Robinsonville, Mississippi Tunica Resorts,Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 , Lincoln de Sá Oliveira , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto Brazil 45 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Daniel Araújo , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Watch Out Combat Show 31 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:13 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Rodrigo Favacho dos Santos , Submission (rear-naked choke) , MMA Fight Show 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:29 , Arraial do Cabo, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Lincoln de Sá Oliveira , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto Brazil 32 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Sandro Gemaque de Souza , KO (punches) , Fatality Arena Fight Night 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:58 ,

Niterói Niterói () is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay, facing the city of Rio de ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Samuel de Souza , TKO (elbows and punches) , World Fighting Combat 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Bruno Azevedo , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Shooto Brazil 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto Brazil 16 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Ralph Alves , Decision (split) , Watch Out Combat Show 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Magno Alves , KO (punch) , Watch Out Combat Show 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Michael William Costa , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto Brazil 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Bruno Moreno , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Shooto Brazil 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:09 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Gabriel Wolff , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Shooto Brazil 11 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , William Vianna , Decision (split) , Watch Out Combat Show 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Peterson Malfort , TKO (punches) , Rocinha Fight , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Antônio Carlos , Submission (armbar) , Vila Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Brazil , , - , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , rowspan=3, The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , rowspan=3,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Brandon Moreno , Submission (rear-naked choke) , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:44 ,

Pay-per-view bouts

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pantoja, Alexandre Living people 1990 births Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Brazilian male mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Rio de Janeiro (state) Martial artists from Rio de Janeiro (city) People from Arraial do Cabo Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Ultimate Fighting Championship champions Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen