“I feel like my life looks like this movie because God gave me the answers in my life,” continued Pantoja, whose path to the top of the flyweight division began with the decision to move south to Florida to train under the direction of Marcos da Matta. American Top Team and included a detour or two along the way. “I lose, I have bad moments, I cry, I’m back in Brazil, I work a lot, but, at the right moment, I know the answers because I’ve been through it.
“I can’t believe God gave me this moment – back in Brazil, the first time I fight for the UFC in Brazil, with my belt, like a champion, like a king; it’s incredible to me.
“You don’t make a film with that – you have to make a book, with lots of chapters; that’s the only thing I can say,” he added enthusiastically. “I worked a lot to make this happen.”
The work has not always been limited to carpets at ATT.
Integrated UFC 301 | All episodes
At one point during his march to the title, Pantoja opted to earn some extra money by driving for Uber Eats, which became a “Can You Believe It!?” story for many who cover the sport.
But when asked about his experience, the flyweight champion doesn’t hesitate to detail how that period of his life was just another chapter in the story of his rise to the title, a chapter that gave him the strength he needed to take those final steps and claim the title. belt last summer.
