May 8 isn’t a holiday, but Alexandre Pantoja has a little present planned for Damacio Page on Friday.
Pantoja (15-2) meets Legacy FC flyweight champion Page (19-9) for the AXS TV superfight title in the RFA vs. Legacy Superfight main event on Friday. The two promotions meet up in a unique cross-promotional effort.
RFA vs. Legacy Superfight takes place Friday at Horseshoe Tunica Resort & Casino in Robinsonville, Miss. The main card airs on AXS TV.
“This fight, for me, is a great gift,” Pantoja told MMAjunkie. “I hope to repay this gift to everyone – especially to Damacio. He’ll receive the biggest gift. His gift will be a punch I’ll be landing on his face.”
Pantoja, from Brazil, is a teammate of UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo at Nova Unaio, as well as the likes of former UFC champ Renan Barao. So his credentials are up there – as evidenced by his current eight-fight winning streak.
He hit eight with a second-round submission of Matt Manzanares this past September in his RFA debut. It was a tapout he’s particularly proud of.
“My focus wasn’t even to take it to the ground, but that’s where we ended up, and that’s where I got the finish,” he said. “The rear-naked choke is a great skill of mine. It’s hard for someone to escape my rear-naked choke. I was truly happy.”
Pantoja said the opportunity to fight on Friday’s card is a monumental one for him, and why wouldn’t it be? He’s fighting a UFC veteran in a main event of talked-about cross-promoted card.
“I was very glad to get the news about my next fight, especially with this format, joining two great promotions,” Pantoja said. “Plus, we’re in the main event, and I’m facing an excellent athlete with UFC experience and great victories to his name. This is the culmination of my entire career, of all that I’ve been doing for years.
“This is another great step for me. I came from holding the Shooto Brazil belt, to flying to the United States and getting the RFA belt, and now I’m going to capture yet another belt.”
In RFA vs. Legacy Superfight Headliner, Alexandre Pantoja Has Gift For Damacio Page
4/
5
Oleh
Unknown