This Saturday, fans who attended the gym in Rio de Janeiro were able to see Pantoja at his best. A complete and experienced athlete, he is skilled both on his feet and on the ground, as well as being strong and fast. Despite this, he is quite possibly not the biggest, nor the strongest or fastest in the category. I would venture to say, however, that there is no rival for him when it comes to heart.
This ability to find energy when you are tired, or to find desire when the body is already asking for rest, can be worked on little in the gym. In training, the fighter hones all his technical skills, but it is in the “deep waters” that the athlete manages to prove who he wants more. And today, just like throughout his career in the UFC, no one wanted it more than Alexandre Pantoja.
It’s even curious to analyze it this way, but the longer the fight gets, bloody and tiring, the greater the current champion’s chance of victory. At the peak of his physical and technical capacity, and now with plenty of experience in five-round fights in the UFC, now three in total, the champion is a difficult puzzle to solve.
Truth be told, challenger Steve Erceg delivered the challenge asked of him. Skilled on his feet, the Australian rocked the champion with an elbow that opened a large cut on his forehead. With great prowess in grappling, the challenger balanced his actions and masterfully defended himself from Pantoja’s feared back grab attempts.
In the fifth round, when two of the judges saw the contest as a draw, Pantoja pressed to the point of making his young rival make a mistake. Upon falling, Erceg was quickly dominated on the ground, and with each attempt to reverse the position, the Brazilian already had an automatic response. At that point, like I said, no one would be able to want it more than the champion.
