“Like if I was drunk,” Month after defending belt, Brazilian champ Alexandre Pantoja SHOCKIGLY claims almost blacking out mid-fight

UFC champion Alexandre Pantoja reveals that he almost blacked out during his UFC 296 title defense against Brandon Royval.

“Like if I was drunk,” Month after defending belt, Brazilian champ Alexandre Pantoja SHOCKIGLY claims almost blacking out mid-fight

Alexandre Pantoja almost blacks out at UFC 296 ( Image via X )

Alexandre Pantoja recently revealed that he almost blacked out during his title defense at UFC 296. Pantoja defeated Brandon Royval unanimously to defend his UFC flyweight championship. Here is what happened:

Pantoja revealed in a recent interview that he almost fainted between the fourth and fifth rounds. Apparently, before the third round, Pantoja’s coach told him they had lost the previous round. This made Pantoja exert himself in the following round and almost pass out. Speaking on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast, Alexandre Pantoja said:

I was aware that I was going out, man. That’s never happen in my life before. I’m still processing what happened. But I started to see the world spinning, brother, like if I was drunk, you lay on bed and everything starts to spin.
Alexandre Pantoja via Trocacao Franca Podcast

The 33-year-old has had ups and downs in his MMA career. He had to deliver as a UBER Eats driver in Brazil to provide for his family. Now, his family lives a better life since he won the flyweight title at UFC 290. It shows Pantoja’s ‘never give up’ attitude. The same attitude helped him not blackout during the fight at UFC 296.

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Alexandre Pantoja defeated Brandon Royval in 2021 during the first bout. The second time, it was not easy to defeat Royval. Royval had good cardio on his side and it troubled Pantoja towards the end of the fight. However, Pantoja was the better wrestler and it helped him overcome the relentless nature of Royval.

Fans react to Alexandre Pantoja almost blacking out during UFC 296

Alexandre Pantoja has not lost a fight since 2021. He currently has a five-fight winning streak. UFC 296 was his first title defense. The fight went the full distance, and Pantoja won via unanimous decision.

Alexandre Pantoja Brandon Royval
Alexandre Pantoja defeated Brandon Royval at UFC 296 ( Image via X )

Fans have reacted to Pantoja revealing that he almost blacked out. Here are some of the reactions from X:

https://twitter.com/PULE1886/status/1742420112538550412
https://twitter.com/MMAb0t/status/1742377241865269648

Pantoja’s recollection shocked the fans. They praised the fighter for pulling through and managing to win the fight by decision. However, some detractors hoped Royval to have some takedown defense so that he could have taken the title away from Pantoja.

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