Demetrious Johnson advises Alexandre Pantoja to retire after UFC 331 loss

Demetrious Johnson believes Alexandre Pantoja should consider retiring from MMA. The former UFC Flyweight Champion advised the Brazilian to walk away from the sport after watching him lose the title fight against Joshua Van at UFC 331 on Saturday.

Pantoja suffered a unanimous decision loss to Van in the main event in Los Angeles, failing to reclaim the flyweight title after previously losing the belt to the Myanmar fighter in December 2025. Johnson believes Pantoja is now in a difficult position in the division after already facing several of the top contenders.

Demetrious Johnson Believes Alexandre Pantoja Has Done Enough

Pantoja became UFC flyweight champion by defeating Brandon Moreno in 2023 and successfully defended the belt four times before losing it to Van. The 36-year-old has also faced several of the division's other top contenders, including Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Johnson argued that Pantoja could have difficulty finding meaningful opponents if he remains in the division. The former champion also pointed out that Pantoja is unlikely to face Kyoji Horiguchi because they are teammates.

"It's hard because he was a champion, and he's beat Brandon Moreno, he's beat Brandon Royval," Johnson said. "I don't know if he's beat Manel Kape, but Manel Kape is going to be fighting Joshua Van next. So it's kind of interesting because he's in the no-man's land where he's beaten everyone already. The only guys he can fight now are just newcomers. He's not going to fight Kyoji Horiguchi because they're teammates. You don't want to knock down an upcoming newcomer because Pantoja is 36. 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.'"

Demetrious Johnson Praises Joshua Van's Grappling Defense

Johnson also shared his assessment of Pantoja's performance against Van. Although the former champion felt the Brazilian won one of the rounds with his grappling, he was particularly impressed by Van's ability to escape dangerous positions and defend takedowns as the fight progressed.

"I was feeling 2-2, but it could've been 3-1, maybe, (heading into the fifth round)" Johnson said. "In this fight, I felt Pantoja did win one of those rounds with the grappling. He didn't do any damage, but like you said, that one judge was smoking crack with the 50-45. Joshua Van was so good at getting out of danger. Pantoja had him in sh*tty positions. Now, side control, easily mount right off the get go, and Van was able to get out of it. That's one thing that Joshua Van does so well, and people have to look at and study. As the fight goes on, he gets stronger, and he's able to defend the takedowns a lot better."

Pantoja will now have to decide what comes next after suffering his second consecutive loss to Van. The Brazilian holds a 30-7 professional record and remains one of the most experienced fighters in the UFC's flyweight division.