Brazilian Alexandre Pantoja reveals Rocky IV motivated him to dethrone Mexican UFC champ Brandon Moreno in electric fight

Brazilian flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja credited his title win to Rocky IV. It helped him embrace the boos from the Mexican fans supporting his opponent.

Brazilian Alexandre Pantoja reveals Rocky IV motivated him to dethrone Mexican UFC champ Brandon Moreno in electric fight

Alexandre Pantoja Vs. Brandon Moreno; Rocky IV (Source: IMAGO)

UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja unveiled cult-classic Rocky IV as his motivation to win against Mexican UFC champ Brandon Moreno. Pantoja faced Moreno for the third time in the co-main event of UFC 290. His win over Moreno made it the fourth consecutive win for Pantoja, with the previous three coming against Manel Kape, Brandon Royval, and Alex Perez.

“Before the fight, like two hours before I fight, I’m watching Rocky IV and uh the fight where he go to Russia and fight with Drago. And all crowd like scream for Drago won; and that’s very similar for me in that night you know. I go – all Mexicans supporting Bruno Moreno…,” said Pantoja. He mentioned that the sentiment of the arena made him feel more fiery and motivated him to win. Alexandre Pantoja performed excellently against Moreno and became the new flyweight champion.

https://youtu.be/kkuPtqIBmfk?si=asCng4NRs3CYOxE_

Pantoja and Moreno have faced off against each other before as well, with Pantoja winning all of them. The first was an exhibition match during TUF 24 (The Ultimate Fighter) 2016, which Pantoja won with a skillful rear-naked choke submission. The second clash was a bout at UFC Fight Night 129. Pantoja won this by unanimous decision. Moreno had his two-fight win streak broken after the title loss.

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Whoever one chooses to side with, one cannot deny the swaying effect of a cult media piece like Rocky IV and what it means to the fighting and combative culture. Interestingly, the movie motivated a fighter facing a hostile crowd and gave the fans one of the most exciting flyweight bouts. Pantoja and Moreno could face each other down the line as destiny may keep them fighting one another for the foreseeable future.

Related: Brandon Moreno left in wheelchair after fight only to jump off and greet former UFC heavyweight champion

Alexandre Pantoja reminds everyone of the first rule of the Fight Club

There is relentless speculation whether Sean O’Malley and Alexandre Pantoja were involved in a sparring session. The latter has been hush-hush about the affair. O’Malley confirmed that they did have a sparring session and that he won. He also mentioned having a video of it. Pantoja responded by demanding proof of the video.

Alexandre Pantoja
Alexandre Pantoja (via Instagram)

O’Malley said he had knocked out Pantoja in the sparring bout. At the time, he was still getting started in combat sports. At that time, O’Malley had a 3-0 record in pro-MMA, while Pantoja had more experience. He also mentioned Henry Cejudo being present then, advising him to pull his punches a little.

Pantoja said he had learned early on that training details were not to be divulged and held sacred. Plus, he traveled 15 hours that day to train and spar at O’Malley’s gym. A feat he would very much like to watch the latter do. Pantoja has also expressed his earnest interest in moving up in weight class and facing O’Malley. He cited O’Malley’s attitude and loudmouth as the reason for wanting to fight the bantamweight champion.

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