Alexandre Pantoja jokes about "educating" Joshua Van
The former UFC flyweight champion joked that he wanted to teach Joshua Van a lesson after the champion's trash talk.
Alexandre Pantoja was not amused by Joshua Van's trash talk at the UFC 331 press conference last month in Philadelphia. The former UFC flyweight champion admitted that his first reaction was to "give him some education," but Dana White prevented him from doing so.
Pantoja and Van will settle their rivalry in Saturday's main event in Los Angeles, with the Brazilian challenging for the flyweight title. The two first met at UFC 323 in December, but their fight ended after just 26 seconds when Pantoja suffered an elbow injury. Van was awarded the victory and became the new champion.
Alexandre Pantoja Wanted to Teach Joshua Van a Lesson
Van's comments during the Philadelphia press conference clearly got under Pantoja's skin. The Burmese fighter interrupted Pantoja while he was talking about his career and told him they were there to talk about the fight. Van continued to provoke the former champion, eventually leading Pantoja to stand up and move toward him before Dana White and security intervened.
Speaking at Wednesday's UFC 331 media day, the Brazilian explained that he considered reacting to Van's trash talk the way he would discipline one of his children.
"When I got up, I tried to give him some education," Pantoja said. "I'm from the '90s. In that time, if you don't respect your mother and your father, they're gonna slap you. I thought about that, but Dana White stopped me."
Alexandre Pantoja Is Hungry to Reclaim the UFC Title
Pantoja has not competed since his first meeting with Van and will return to the Octagon after nearly 10 months away. The Brazilian previously held the flyweight championship for more than two years and successfully defended the belt four times before losing it to Van. Now, the Brazilian is focused on becoming champion again and believes the long layoff has only made him more motivated.
"It's been a long 10 months. [...] I'm very hungry to conquer one more time."
Pantoja will have the chance to reclaim the flyweight title when he faces Van in the UFC 331 main event on Saturday.
