The UFC’s flyweight division has a new champion, and his name is Alexandre Pantoja.
In the co-feature of UFC 290, Pantoja emerged victorious by split decision against Brandon Moreno in a five-round affair. It was an intense fight, and aside from the one judge who saw the fight in Moreno’s favor, most agreed with the other two judges that Pantoja was the correct winner of the flyweight title.
Pantoja entered the bout ranked No. 5 in the USA TODAY SPORTS/MMA Junkie flyweight rankings. After claiming the title, he rises up to settle in at No. 2, only behind Demetrious Johnson.
The main event of the pay-per-view event saw Alexander Volkanovski maintain his stronghold over the featherweight division by recording a third-round TKO of Yair Rodriguez. Volkanovski unified the title, and keeps his No. 1 position in the division. However, his run has elevated him to No. 1 elsewhere, taking the top spot in men’s pound-for-pound.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.
