UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja is devoid of fresh options heading into 2025, and so he's pointed to which potential rematch makes the "most sense" for his next fight.
Pantoja continued his reign of the 125-pound weight class at last weekend's UFC 310 pay-per-view, which he headlined in defense of his throne opposite promotional newcomer Kai Asakura.
The former Rizin champ became the latest to fail in their bid to unseat "The Cannibal," succumbing to a submission in round two to join Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg on Pantoja's list of victims since he captured the crown in mid-2023.
With that, the Brazilian has beaten most of the top names inside the flyweight top 15, creating some uncertainty over who he could put the gold on the line against in 2025. That led to an ambitious callout of the retired Demetrious Johnson at T-Mobile Arena, which was quickly dismissed by "Mighty Mouse."
During an appearance on Wednesday's episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Pantoja assessed the realistic options he has next year.
When presented with three — a rematch with Kai Kara-France, a second dance with current bantamweight Deiveson Figueiredo, or a first-time clash with a re-signed Muhammad Mokaev — "The Cannibal" pointed to which he sees as the most likely.
Yeah, (I'm interested in Kara-France). I think for now, that's the fight that makes sense," Pantoja said. "In the last three fights, he lost twice. But for now, after what I did in my division, everything doesn't make sense anymore. I fight with the number one, number two, top 10, then you bring someone else. I think everybody has a chance right now.
Kara-France is a very exciting fighter. That's someone who is going to bring me to another level," Pantoja continued. "Kai Kara-France is the only one in my division. Mokaev is not on the UFC roster right now...and Figueiredo's coming off one loss. Everything can happen, nothing makes sense right now. But I think I am ready for the UFC to give me Kai Kara-France. This fight maybe can make good numbers and big pay-per-view...but I'm not going to Australia.
Pantoja and Kara-France met way back in 2016 on season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter. The Brazilian defeated the New Zealander in the quarterfinal by way of unanimous decision.
While "The Cannibal" has since risen to the top, "Don't Blink" fell short in his sole shot at UFC gold thus far opposite Brandon Moreno in 2022. Kara-France has gone 1-1 post-title fight, most recently knocking out Erceg in memorable fashion at UFC 305 this past August in what marked his first fight in 14 months.
Whether or not that result was enough to net him an opportunity at Pantoja remains to be seen. For now, the champ will no doubt still be celebrating his latest triumph and enjoying a break before resuming his divisional rule in the new year.