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

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighter, currently fighting for the

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

and is the

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of b ...

champion of the

Resurrection Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

and Shooto Brazil. As of August 20, 2022, he is #2 in the UFC flyweight 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 Johnson (born August 13, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in ONE Championship, where he is the current ONE Flyweight Champion (135 lb). He is the inaugural and former UFC Flyweight Champion. Known fo ...

. 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). Background Benavidez was born on July 31, 1984, in San An ...

and

Henry Cejudo Henry Cejudo (born February 9, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. He is the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight Champion and Bantamweight Champion. He is the fourth UFC fighter to h ...

, and Pantoja was from Team Cejudo. He was ranked # 1 in Team Cejudo, and made his first fight against # 16 Team Benavidez,

Brandon Moreno Brandon Carrillo Moreno (born December 7, 1993) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Flyweight Champion, and the cu ...

. The two came to interact within the house, even with Pantoja speaking

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, 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 Kara-France (born March 26, 1993) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 1, 2022, he is #3 in the UFC flyweight ...

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

Hiromasa Ougikubo Hiromasa Ougikubo (born 1 April 1987) 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 Fighte ...

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

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 division of the UFC. Beginning his career in 2005, Seery also competed for BAMMA, Cage Warriors, and RINGS. He w ...

on July 16, 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 113 ''UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 113'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 16, 2017 at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. Background The event w ...

. He won the fight via submission in the third round. Pantoja faced

Dustin Ortiz Dustin Ortiz (born December 25, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division and is currently signed to the Brave CF. A professional competitor since 2010, Ortiz has also formerly competed for the UFC, RFA, ...

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

on May 19, 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 129 ''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 129'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 19, 2018, at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. Background The even ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Pantoja faced

Ulka Sasaki Ulka may refer to: * Ulka Gupta (born 1997), Indian film and television actress * Ulka Sasaki (born 1989), Japanese mixed martial artist * DRDO Ulka Ulka (Sanskrit: meteor or firebrand) is an air-launched expendable target drone of India. Desc ...

on November 17, 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 140 ''UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 140'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on November 17, 2018 at Estadio Mary Terán de Weiss in Buenos Aires ...

. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Pantoja faced

Wilson Reis Wilson Reis Monte Alto Gonçalves (born January 6, 1985, in Januária) 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 ...

on April 13, 2019 at

UFC 236 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest M ...

. 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 Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the two-time and current UFC Flyw ...

on July 27, 2019 at

UFC 240 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. 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. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Schnell formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Alli ...

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. Pantojais faced

Askar Askarov Askar Askarov (russian: Аскар Сайпулаевич Аскаров; born 9 October 1992) is a Russian mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler who competes in the Flyweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Askaro ...

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 (Rizin FF or Rizin) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. Rizin was founded to be the spir ...

Bantamweight champion

Manel Kape Manuel Pedro Gomes (born November 14, 1993) better known as Manel Kape, is an Angolan mixed martial artist currently competing as a flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2012, he has formerly competed fo ...

on December 19, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 183 ''UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 183'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 41'' and ''UFC Vegas 17'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 19, 2020 at the UF ...

. 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 6, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2012, Royval has also forme ...

on August 21, 2021

UFC on ESPN 29 ''UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 29'' and ''UFC Vegas 34'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 21, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterp ...

. He won the fight via rear-naked choke in round two. With this win, Pantoja earned the

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

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 ''

'' award.

Championships and accomplishments

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

** Fight of the Night (One time) **

(Third times) **Tied (

) for second most finishes in the UFC Flyweight division history (6) * MMAJunkie.com **2019 July Fight of the Month

Mixed martial arts record

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

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

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 24–5 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:46 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 23–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Abu Dhabi, 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 ,

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...

, South Korea , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

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

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

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

, TKO (punches) ,

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

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–3 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:18 ,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina , , - , Win , align=center, 19–3 ,

, 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 as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

, Chile , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Boston, Massachusetts, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–2 ,

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

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

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

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

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

Damacio Page Damacio James Page (born September 30, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing for Legacy Fighting Championship in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Page has also formerly compete ...

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

Robinsonville, Mississippi Tunica Resorts, formerly known as Robinsonville until 2005,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–2 , Matt Manzanares , Submission (rear-naked choke) , RFA 18: Manzanares vs. Pantoja , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:38 , Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 , Lincoln de Sá Oliveira , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto Brazil 45 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, 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 - Summer Edition , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:29 ,

Arraial do Cabo Arraial do Cabo () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 30,593 as of 2020 census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of ...

, 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, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Samuel de Souza , TKO (elbows and punches) , WFC 4 - Pretorian , , 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 federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

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

Jussier Formiga Jussier da Silva Viera 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 Ameri ...

, 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, 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, 3 , 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, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Antônio Carlos , Submission (armbar) , Hikari Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, 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 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:44 ,

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pantoja, Alexandre Living people 1990 births Brazilian male mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Rio de Janeiro (city) Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu