"He's also very familiar with fellow Brazilian Pantoja, the UFC's long-serving flyweight champ. "Man it's a tough fight, you know? I trained with Pantoja for a while. Just fought Van," Pantoja told Cageside Press following UFC Vancouver, asked about the match-up. "Van hits hard, young, comes forward. I think Pantoja's going to win, but Van's got a good chance. The kid's good.""
"That may just be fantasy matchmaking, but both fighters are coming close to clearing out the major contenders in their respective weight classes. "He can do it, be we know Merab's a different animal. And Pantoja's small, man. He's not a big flyweight," Silva said of the suggestion. "If I was him, I'd stay in the flyweight division. He don't want that smoke. Merab's a different animal.""
Bruno Gustavo da Silva lost to Joshua Van in June, then submitted Hyun Sung Park at UFC Vancouver. Silva trained with Alexandre Pantoja and knows the long-serving flyweight champion well. He assesses Pantoja as the favorite against Van while acknowledging Van's heavy hands and forward pressure make him dangerous. Fan speculation suggests Pantoja could move up to bantamweight to challenge Merab Dvalishvili after another title defense, but Silva frames that idea as risky. Silva emphasizes Pantoja's small size for higher divisions and recommends staying at flyweight because Merab represents a tougher challenge.
Read at Cageside Press
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