At 35, the ageless Alexandre Pantoja wants to be recognized as the best in MMA before he calls it quits

For as cliched as the tired phrase typically sounds, that fighters become 30% better upon winning the championship, it's an adage that UFC flyweight titleholder Alexandre Pantoja has very much made true of late. 

The 35-year-old Pantoja (30-5) has embarked upon a meteoric rise up the sport's pound-for-pound rankings in recent years as he enters a UFC 323 title defense against Joshua Van (15-2) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. And even though the defining narrative regarding Saturday's co-main event has surrounded the age gap between them and the rapid rise of the 24-year-old challenger from Myanmar, the division's best untold story of late has been Pantoja's remarkable turnaround. 

Pantoja, a native of Brazil, was a self-proclaimed brawler with a strong jiu-jitsu game when he entered his first title shot in 2023 as an underdog against Brandon Moreno. And the disputed split decision he ultimately claimed by biting down the mouthpiece and slugging it out over five brutal rounds won an emotional Pantoja respect, even if most felt his advanced age and reputation for absorbing damage would lead to a short-lived (and transitional) title reign. 

Two years later, Pantoja is entering his fifth title defense ranked among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and somehow appears to be getting better, more efficient and even more dominant with each fight. 

"I just started believing I could be a UFC champion only three or four years ago when I came to American Top Team, which is the best gym in the world," Pantoja told CBS Sports last week. "We have the best athletes, best coaches. American Top Team is a mecca for MMA."

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While Pantoja is always quick to credit the venerable gym in Coconut Creek, Florida, for his evolution, which has included years of training alongside former flyweight champions Kyoji Horiguchi (RIZIN) and Adriano Moraes (ONE Championship), the financial security brought upon him by becoming UFC champion has been just as important. 

"I have money to invest much more in my professional area," Pantoja said. "I can be an athlete full-time with a full camp. I can invest my money in better physical therapy, best supplements, best life to living very healthy. I'm from Brazil and had to invest a lot of money to start my new life here and then I had a little struggle with my bank account. Right now, it's very different. I can enjoy more with my wife and kids and I can provide a better time for my family."

Heading into his first title bout, Pantoja was still delivering food as a side job to make ends meet for his wife and two sons. But just two years later, he looks like a completely different fighter as it has become clear that the investments he has made into himself have made him a better and more confident athlete. 

A quick glance at his last two title defenses, which featured dominant submission wins over Kai Asakura and Kai Kara-France, have confirmed this theory as Pantoja has appeared to separate himself behind Demetrious Johnson (and his UFC-record 11 title defenses) as the second best flyweight in promotional history. 

"I start to believe more in myself in everything that I did. Now, I start to put more into my technique and I'm still evolving my game," Pantoja said. "I think I can prove more control of the Octagon. I don't need to hate so much. Before, I was like a brawler, I liked to fight. I thought this was very good entertainment for everybody. I went there and put everything out. But I needed to protect myself more. I don't need to make a street fight all the time. I have so much technique. I am very happy with everything I did, but I think the big point is I proved that I improved with all my camps." 

The fact that Pantoja is 35 in the promotion's smallest weight division, where speed reigns dominant, is a testament to the hard work he has put in throughout this two-year evolution. The next goal on Pantoja's list of career accomplishments is to become universally recognized as the P4P-best fighter in the world, which he said is the reason "why I am here."

Pantoja is the rare fighter who admits he follows the P4P rankings closely. As things stand now, he believes no one deserves to be ranked above welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, who has "looked unbeatable" in his new weight class. But, in the meantime, Pantoja would settle for critics to look at him as being on the same level as his elite contemporaries atop the sport -- namely Makhachev, lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili -- and has often used his post-fight interview time after title defenses to campaign for inclusion.

While Pantoja, and the three champions ahead of him on the P4P rankings, haven't been extolled with any kind of historically relevant moniker like boxing's "Four Kings" of the 1980s, he does believe that collectively the four fighters are responsible for elevating the sport to an entirely new level during this decade. 

"I think those guys, and I put myself in that club, are such complete fighters," Pantoja said. "We bring the new level to UFC and a new level to MMA. I think every fighter in the world understands that to get the UFC belt, he needs to go forward to evolve his level to compete with Islam, Ilia, Merab and Pantoja. Everybody understands that the level is different right now in this game.

"I think it's the best time for UFC and the best era for fans and fighters. I think [UFC's new broadcasting] deal with Paramount [the parent company of CBS Sports] can show everybody about that. We deserve all of the credit and I put myself in that club, too."

Pantoja compared his leveling up in skill, and the effect it has had on both the division and the sport, to what Johnson accomplished 10 years before him as the inaugural UFC flyweight king. 

"[Johnson] mixed the striking and grappling," Pantoja said. "He made a beautiful MMA fighter and put it all in the game."

Pantoja believes he can push himself to evolve for an additional two years but admits that after six title bouts since 2023, the physical grind of staying on top of his game all year is catching up with him and that his "broken" body "feels pain all the time." It has all been worth it, however, as Pantoja has used his run as champion as an opportunity to change the life of him and his family. 

Now, he'll look to use that experience he painstakingly gained from a pro MMA career that began in 2007 (when his opponent, Van, was just starting grade school) to prove that he still belongs atop the sport.  

"We are living now in the future and everybody wants everything so fast," Pantoja said. "It's like that, the young generation versus old school MMA fighter. I'm close to being a 20-year MMA fighter. A lot happened for me and I feel much better right now after two years getting this belt for the first time, I have evolved so much more. I'm very glad to still be with this belt and have the chance to fight one more time."