Alexandre Pantoja explains why he needs Kai Kara-France to beat the ‘crap out of Cody Garbrandt’: “This man is coming all the way down to our division pondering he’s going to have a simple life at flyweight and I need the world to see that that is our weight class.”
“I know Kai, he’s a great kid,” said Pantoja, who defeated him via decision during The Ultimate Fighter 24 in 2016. “This guy is coming down to our division thinking he’s going to have an easy life at flyweight and I want to show, I want the world to see that this is our weight class. We simply don’t have enough pounds to fight at bantamweight. I believe that a win for Kai is a way for people to start respecting more our division.”
Pantoja admits he was bothered by the possibility of having Garbrandt compete for the gold right in his flyweight debut, back when he was 1-3 in his past four octagon appearances, but ultimately understands the business aspect of it.
“No doubt [it bothers me], but I’m an employee and I’ll always agree with the UFC if they think that’s what should be done,” Pantoja said. “I think it’s interesting that he’s going this fight with Kai. It’s a good fight for Garbrandt because Kai also likes to fight on the feet, but, if Kai fights smarter, without exposing himself that much, I’m sure he has what it takes to beat [Garbrandt].”
Who y’all got if Cody would fight Royval or even Fig? I wonder how Cody holds up at a smaller weight
I just want more fighters in that division. They’re so scrappy!
Honestly that’s fair, it is kinda a spit in the face of 125ers to even discuss giving Cody a title shot at this stage in his career
I like Cody, but I think his days as an elite fighter are past.
I wonder what Cody will actually look like at 125, if he’ll be a skeleton like TJ and perform like shit or it will actually be a good career move like Aldo moving down.
Cody isnt even a big 135er. He cuts almost nothing
Shit I like kai because he’s repping the country but I’m a Big no love fan. I’ll be happy whoever wins. I’ll also be sad whoever wins. Fuck these fights.
“This is our division” says nobody
You sound a little insecure there Pantoja.
Fair point. I get it. Flyweight is still very underrated. It’s about time they started getting some main events too.
Cody gets murked by the top 5 no question. Dude is kinda over the hill already, draining himself to get to 125 would just end how it did for TJ lol.
I’m glad Garbrandt is moving down. We’ll see if he is more confident against guys his own size