Time for a change? The story of the new UFC champion makes you think. Five years at the top of his game, he’s recently had to work another job

At this weekend’s UFC 290 tournament, we met a new champion. Brandon Moreno lost his belt, while Brazilian fighter Alexandre Pantoja took it. After the fight, he didn’t hide his emotions. Not long ago he had to earn money outside of combat sports.

He proved it. At the age of 33, he had the biggest success of his career in combat sports. Over the weekend, he defeated Brandon Moreno to become the new champion. Even in the cage, you could see how much it meant to him. The shots of his family were touching.

In addition, Alexandre Pantoja is on a great streak. Moreno lost to him for the third time. He fought him in 2016 and 2018, winning the first time on a choke, then dominating the second and third on points.

He just broke into the organization in 2016 via The Ultimate Fighter. Since then, he has slowly clawed his way to the absolute top. Back in 2019, he made it into the top five of the UFC’s flyweight division. He never dropped out of it after that.

But even that wasn’t enough for him to make a comfortable living in combat sports. That’s why he had to make extra money elsewhere, delivering food at UberEats. He quit that in August of 2021 when he received a $50,000 performance of the night bonus after his win over Brandon Royval.

He revealed the information on Ariel Helwani’s traditional show The MMA Hour. This fact hasn’t completely left fans and critics of the UFC, who have long been calling for fighters to be paid better.

For the top of their weight class to have to make extra money? A thought-provoking question. Pantoja himself, however, doesn’t want to push the UFC, nor is he being critical. “I’m a man, I have to take care of my business. The UFC is the best place for all fighters to go,” MMA Junkie quotes him as saying.

And how did Pantoja get into financial straits in the first place? He wanted to do everything he could to succeed in his career, so he decided to leave Brazil and move to Florida. He wants to raise his children in the U.S. He has a green card, which he appreciates.

“If I continued to live in Brazil, I would be a rich man. If you have a dollar in Brazil, you are a rich man. But I chose to move to Florida. I put a down payment on a house and at that point I didn’t have enough money to take care of all the bills. Ask someone for help? Of course not. So I worked so hard to keep my dream alive,” he said.

Outside of UberEats, Pantoja earned money as a producer at jiu-jitsu tournaments, trying to make $150 a day. His hard work paid off, and he was duly rewarded.

Source: The MMA Hour, MMA Junkie, Tapology