In the immediate aftermath of claiming the flyweight title from Brandon Moreno in the UFC 290 co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja told Joe Rogan that few people were aware of the struggles he endured to get his hands on gold. Every fighter who chooses to compete in a volatile sport like MMA has taken risks and made sacrifices, and only few make it to the top. Pantoja (26-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) is now one of them after his split decision win over Moreno (21-6-2 MMA, 9-3-2 UFC) this past Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The road had many obstacles along the way, and in recent years, Pantoja had plenty. On Monday, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani reported that during his rise up to the 125-pound belt, Pantoja had a six-month stint working for UberEats in order to support himself. For a fighter who has been in the top 15 ranking for more than half a decade and in the top 5 since 2019, that came as jarring news to some.
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