Injury that ended Alexandre Pantoja’s reign could be a blessing in disguise says flyweight legend

Joseph Benavidez believes Alexandre Pantoja could end up benefitting from losing the belt.

Joshua Van believes that he will stop Pantoja in their flyweight title rematch this Saturday to finally put the result of their first meeting behind him.

While some questioned the legitimacy of the young champion’s reign, Van has taken credit for the injury Pantoja suffered just 26 seconds into his fifth defense of the 125-pound gold.

Amid questions about how this setback will impact the return of ‘The Cannibal’, a UFC veteran who knows a thing or two about competing for championships suggested that this could work in his favor.

The flyweight champion legitimized his reign by beating Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328.

In 2012, Joseph Benavidez was beaten by Demetrious Johnson via split decision in the fight to crown the UFC’s inaugural flyweight champion.

The veteran recently shared his thoughts on the main event of UFC 331 as a former four-time title challenger.

In the immediate aftermath of his injury, Alexandre Pantoja claimed that he’d be back sooner than people thought and has seemingly been ready to return for some time.

It was obviously devastating to see the dominant champion’s reign end in such an unfortunate injury.

However, Benavidez believes that for someone with much experience as Pantoja, who has been facing top opposition for a long time, this forced break could benefit him.

“An injury at a time for Pantoja, who’s been grinding for so long, can honestly be a very beneficial blessing,” he said on The Bohnfire. “Just to take some time off and you know, just let little things heal.

“For so many years for anyone at a high level, you’re literally going up, going down, eating for two weeks, up, down, up, down… A person like Pantoja I think can benefit from the rest and coming back, letting everything heal.”

Benavidez went on to draw from his own personal experience when saying that after he spent 13 months on the sidelines due to a torn ACL injury, he returned in the best shape of his career.

Let us know in the comments which injury inside the Octagon was the hardest to watch.

Since the first meeting between Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja, the rematch has become a more interesting matchup.

Despite this, Joseph Benavidez is still expecting to see the Brazilian reclaim his spot as the top fighter in the division.

“I do think Pantoja probably has the advantage,” he said. “He is maybe so much further advanced in one of the arts, in the jiu-jitsu. He has such an advantage there.”

Benavidez did counter this point by saying that you could make the same case for the boxing ability of Van.

The UFC flyweight veteran believes that while this is the case, he believes that Pantoja, who has experience against some of the division’s best boxers, will counter this.

“You don’t really see that advantage being taken advantage of against Pantoja just because the way he fights. He’s always in your face,” Benavidez added.