After a rejected challenge, Pantoja proposes training to Demetrious Johnson

Unable to convince Demetrious Johnson to come out of retirement and accept his challenge for a duel in the most famous octagon in the world, Alexandre Pantoja still hasn't given up on exchanging, in some way, fighting experiences with 'Mighty Mouse'. In an interview with 'The Ariel Helwani Show', the UFC flyweight champion (57 kg) revealed that he has a new proposal for the veteran.

Conformed with the refusal of his challenge by the former Ultimate champion, Pantoja suggested a possible training session between him and Demetrious Johnson. The meeting would serve as a kind of 'consolation prize' for the Rio native, who would add the name 'Mighty Mouse' to the list of great training partners of the athlete from the 'American Top Team' team.

“I understand if he doesn’t want to (fight), I have great respect (for him). I just need to train with him, maybe train with him, that's something I want because I've trained with (Henry) Cejudo, I train with Kyoji Horiguchi, Adriano Moraes, I fight with a lot of good fighters. This is something I dreamed of, facing the best fighters in the world. Demetrious Johnson is the best. He's so smart and I want to challenge him on that. That's why I'm fighting, and that's why I never say 'no' to anyone. Maybe I’ll send him a message and we can train together”, proposed Pantoja.

New target

With the 'no' from Demetrious Johnson, who retired from MMA a few months ago, Alexandre Pantoja already has another target in mind for his next UFC belt defense. Also during his appearance on the program 'The Ariel Helwani Show', the champion mentioned the name of Kai Kara-France – fourth in the Ultimate flyweight rankings – as the favorite for the challenger spot for his title.