Is it time for “The Cannibal” to walk away?
Alexandre Pantoja suffered a unanimous decision loss to reigning champion Joshua Van in UFC 331’s main event this past Saturday (Sept. 19, 2026) inside Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Van won by scores of 50-45, 49-47 and 49-46, dropping the Brazilian veteran during a dominant fifth round.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson believes Pantoja should retire following his unsuccessful attempt to recapture the 125-pound title.
It was Pantoja’s second consecutive loss to Van. Their first fight ended after just 26 seconds when Pantoja dislocated his elbow, prematurely ending his lengthy championship reign. The immediate rematch gave Pantoja an opportunity to prove the injury was nothing more than a freak accident, but Van instead removed any lingering doubt by defeating the former champion over five rounds.
Now, Pantoja finds himself in a strange position.
“It’s hard because he was a champion, and he’s beat Brandon Moreno, he’s beat Brandon Royval,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “I don’t know if he’s beat Manel Kape, but Manel Kape is going to be fighting Joshua Van next.”
For the record, Pantoja did defeat Manel Kape, winning a unanimous decision in Kape’s UFC debut back in Feb. 2021.
Pantoja also owns multiple victories over Moreno and Royval, along with championship wins over Steve Erceg, Kai Asakura and Kai Kara-France. Indeed, the former champion has already fought — and beaten — nearly every established contender at the top of the division.
That leaves Pantoja stuck in Flyweight no-man’s land.
“So it’s kind of interesting because he’s in the no-man’s land where he’s beaten everyone already,” Johnson continued. “The only guys he can fight now are just newcomers. He’s not going to fight Kyoji Horiguchi because they’re teammates.”
Johnson doesn’t see much value in the 36-year-old Pantoja hanging around to become a highly decorated gatekeeper for UFC’s next generation of Flyweight prospects. With another championship run likely requiring multiple wins against younger contenders, “Mighty Mouse” would rather see his fellow former champion preserve his health.
“You don’t want to knock down an upcoming newcomer because Pantoja is 36,” Johnson said. “That’s where my black ass just goes, ‘Dog, ride off into the sunset. You don’t need to get hit. You don’t need concussions anymore. You’ve done your thing.’”
Johnson knows a thing or two about leaving the sport with something left in the tank. The greatest Flyweight champion in UFC history retired in Sept. 2024 after winning his final four fights and avenging his last defeat.
Pantoja has not publicly indicated that he is considering retirement. Despite Saturday’s loss, “The Cannibal” remains one of the greatest Flyweights of all time, having captured the title from Moreno in 2023 before successfully defending it four times.
UFC 331 also marked Pantoja’s first legitimate defeat since his July 2020 decision loss to Askar Askarov, with his first setback against Van caused by the freak elbow injury.
He may still have enough left to make one more championship run. Johnson simply doesn’t believe Pantoja has anything left to prove — or that another belt is worth the damage required to get there.
For complete UFC 331 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
