Sports

UFC Champ Alexandre Pantoja Reveals The Financial Struggle He Faced Until His First Big Paycheck

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UFC champ Alexandre Pantoja

Getty Image / Steve Marcus


Saturday night was one heck of a night for fights, as UFC 290 was one of the best cards this year.

The brawl between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Moreno is a serious contender for fight of the year, as it was back and forth from the jump.

Both fighters have a wild story of how they became two of the UFC’s top contenders in the flyweight division.

For Pantoja, it turns out his struggles were actually more recent than you’d think.

During Ariel Helwani’s latest episode of The MMA Hour, the famous reporter shared details about Pantoja’s struggles just recently.

While listing the lineup of interviews on the show, Helwani reported that Alexandre Pantoja was working for Uber Eats to make money all while being a top contender in the UFC’s flyweight division.

Here’s what Helwani had to say about it.

“Pantoja was driving for Uber Eats two fights ago. Made $100 the weekend before the Royval fight, and then stopped driving when he got the $50K bonus. I mean, that’s just absurd. So the Royval fight, I know he hasn’t fought in a while because he was waiting for this opportunity, that was in August of 2021. So, that was less than two years ago.”

Ariel Helwani is spot on saying that is just absurd. I mean, Alexandre Pantoja has been at the top of the flyweight division in the UFC for a several years now.

This of course falls back on the fighters pay controversy surrounding the UFC. Even so, Helwani didn’t go into it any further detail about it. Probably because it’s well known where he stands on that.

But it’s just bizarre that one of the UFC’s best fighters had to work a separate job while being a professional athlete in the worlds biggest MMA organization.

However, Pantoja doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. Especially now that he’s the flyweight champion.

Maybe one day the fighters at the top of the roster can earn enough money through fighting to where they don’t need a part-time job. But it also makes sense why becoming a champion is so coveted.