UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will defend his title at UFC 296 on Dec. 16, and has expressed his disdain for former teammate Colby Covington, who is also fighting that night, stating that Covington is not welcome at their former gym, American Top Team, and that he has no intention of being friendly towards him during the event.
Alexandre Pantoja is gearing up to defend his UFC flyweight championship. The co-main event of UFC 296 is set for Dec. 16, the same night Colby Covington will be challenging Leon Edwards for the welterweight title in Las Vegas. Pantoja, an American Top Team product, wants nothing to do with his former teammate Covington.
Covington split from ATT in 2020 after a series of public spats with teammates Jorge Masvidal, Dustin Poirier, and Joanna Jedrzejcyk. Pantoja mentioned on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast that Covington, who now trains at MMA Masters, isn’t welcome at the Florida-based gym.
“Everybody wants to kill him there,” Pantoja said. He doesn’t care, though. He’s walking his own path. He knows that everything Covington says is pure marketing.
Pantoja works with ATT boxing coach Gabriel de Oliveira, a person he respects a lot. He mentioned that Gabriel said Covington has always respected him. For Pantoja, respect for those he likes earns points.
However, Pantoja has no intention of being friendly or cordial towards Covington during UFC 296 fight week. He was born in Copacabana and they are, in his words, “disgusting towards everybody”. He respects Covington as an athlete, but feels more connected to Leon Edwards because of his life story.
Covington has publicly admitted that he changed his persona prior to fighting Demian Maia in Brazil. He feared being cut from the UFC. That persona has propelled him into more profitable opportunities inside and outside the octagon. Pantoja thinks it all comes with a price.
Pantoja believes that Covington is one of those people who let fame change his character. He thinks it’s not a good idea to leave American Top Team. He’s been part of a few teams, but ATT was the best fit for him.
Covington moved to a team where he thinks he’ll get all the attention. Pantoja thinks MMA is not about that. Even though they’re fighting alone in there, there’s a great team behind them.
The owner of American Top Team always tells coach Marcos Parrumpa that he likes Pantoja’s attitude in the gym. Pantoja is always open to training with every training partner. He enjoys helping everybody because he gets so much help too.
Covington vs. Edwards could attract more viewers to UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena. This means more money for Pantoja in the form of pay-per-view points. The PPV portion of the show also features Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson, Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett, and Vicente Luque vs. Ian Machado Garry.
“That card is awesome,” Pantoja said. He celebrates every name that gets in there. He’s so pumped and happy with this opportunity. He believes he’s earned it, and his family deserves it. But he’s very focused. He has a mission on December 16. He won’t be available for anything until December 17 because he’s focused. His goal is to defend the title — and it’s on the same arena he won it, so he’s definitely coming back home with the belt.