Vancouver — Flyweight Bruno Gustavo da Silva (or simply Bruno Silva, not to be confused with Bruno “Blindado” Silva) might just have the inside track on Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van, recently confirmed for UFC 323 in December.
Silva (15-7-2, 1NC), after all, lost to Van this past June, before bouncing back with a submission of Hyun Sung Park at UFC Vancouver on Saturday. He’s also very familiar with fellow Brazilian Pantoja, the UFC’s long-serving flyweight champ.
“Man it’s a tough fight, you know? I trained with Pantoja for a while. Just fought Van,” Pantoja told Cageside Press following UFC Vancouver, asked about the match-up. “Van hits hard, young, comes forward. I think Pantoja’s going to win, but Van’s got a good chance. The kid’s good.”
There has been talk among fans that should Pantoja earn his fifth successful flyweight title defense, a move up to bantamweight to face Merab Dvalishvili for 135lb gold could be in the cards. That may just be fantasy matchmaking, but both fighters are coming close to clearing out the major contenders in their respective weight classes.
“He can do it, be we know Merab’s a different animal. And Pantoja’s small, man. He’s not a big flyweight,” Silva said of the suggestion. “If I was him, I’d stay in the flyweight division. He don’t want that smoke. Merab’s a different animal.”
Watch the full UFC Vancouver post-fight press conference with Bruno Silva above.
