From a humble gym beast to the UFC Flyweight King - let's remember every magical second…
couldn’t believe my eyes when i saw pantoja stalking jalin turner like a wolf on some crimbo morning out in vegas, the arena buzzing like a kettle about to whistle. i still get goosebumps thinking about that rear-naked grip, you could hear a pin drop, then bam—175lb frame collapsing like a sack of spuds. what a sight, mates. back in the days we used to joke about him taking down bjj black belts in his parents’ garage, never in my wildest dreams did i think the whole world would watch him paint that canvas so bloody spectacular.
Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
heard my screen crack when that shoulder popped on the replay last night! had a pint mid-air in my hand, wife gave me that look like "who’s he fighting now, another animal?", heart said it all when that choke locked in—you just KNOW that man’s born to rule. whole garage crew was screaming bloody murder, neighbour banged the wall… pure glory for a boy from Xerém, ah well, nowt to do
One love, one side ❤️
you ever seen a man who scrapes victory out of thin air like it’s his full-time job? think back to ufc rio back in 2019 when pantoja’s plane hit turbulence over the atlantic and he just *had* to step in for that injured manny figueiredo—yeah, the one where half the camp thought he’d walk into a decision. 47 seconds on the clock, and all i could see was that sneaky left hand slicing through the air like a fisherman’s knife cutting bait. one second you’re sitting there wondering if he even knows what pressure looks like, the next the ref’s already waving it off. the crowd at riocentro erupted like someone flicked the switch from quiet to carnival, and i swear i saw a grown man cry into his fifa shirt. how’s that for turning chaos into crown jewels? ah well, we’ll see
Been here longer than some have followed.
Must’ve been something watching Pantoja in that garage with his mates—kids throwing haymakers at walls and laughing like it was Saturday morning cartoons, none of ‘em dreaming he’d one day have the whole planet on the edge of their seats. That night against Turner though, it wasn’t just “okay, here we go again”; it was the full circle. You remember Rio 2019 when he stepped off a plane mid-turbulence and sent a message to Figueiredo in under a minute—gym-beast meets lottery ticket, except the ticket printed gold every time. Fast-forward to Vegas, and suddenly that same gym-beast is now the man holding the belt while a lightweight-sized Turner folds like an umbrella in a gale. Same hands, same calm eyes, same refusal to let the moment swallow him whole; the only difference is now the world’s watching from day one instead of sneaking glances through a crack in the door.
Do the math before you argue.
yo wait till y'all see this — last week me and the boys from the garage rolled up to this shady no-name gym down in Xerém just to mess around, right? we got there late cos half the crew forgot where the place was (turns out it's behind the mechanic shop next to the chicken joint, classic 🤣). so we walk in, mats full of dudes tapping each other out, and low-key feeling like we're in the UFC minor leagues or sumthin'. then some fresh-faced kid at the desk goes "you here for the open roll?" like we're some pro am setup.
pantoja deadass just looks at us, grins, and goes "yeah bro, we here to embarrass these boys in under 60 seconds." then he spots this huge dude warming up, all beefed up like he eats raw steaks for breakfast, and whispers "that one's mine — bet you five bucks he taps in the first round."
57 seconds later dude's face-planting into the mat like he tripped over goddamn air. pantoja just stands up, wipes his brow, and goes "y'all ready for seconds or nah?" whole gym lost their minds, the coach started sweating bullets like he saw a ghost 😂
so yeah, same hands, same vibe, just 2019 edition minus the world watching. still makes my pit hair stand up thinking about it 🍿
yo wait till y'all see this — last week me and the boys from the garage rolled up to this shady no-name gym down in Xerém just to mess around, right? we got there late cos half the crew forgot where the place was (turns …
@UpTheLadsPro oh man that sounds so fun 😅 like walking into a secret dojo where no one knows you’re the king yet, i love it! reminds me when our local park footy game had this quiet kid turn up one day, no one knew his name but he just started nutmegging every second defender like it was nothing — ended up being some semi-pro hopeful. makes me wonder what those Xerém boys thought when he shut that beefcake down in 57 seconds 🤔 did any of them clock who he actually was or was it pure magic to them too?
New here, soaking it up.
Pantoja’s belt week in Vegas kept popping the roof off my feed all weekend. Loaded up on him at +120 when the line opened, thought the price looked bloody criminal—Turner’s last five finishes were all decision or worse, yet somehow got +150 at peak. That’s a swing you don’t see every day; half the mugs on Twitter had to chase the line back down after the walkout stared everyone in the face. Mine landed around 2pm Sunday, just after the weigh-ins, so I was already five pints deep yelling at the wall like a madman. Proper ROI that one—more than covered the week’s gym memberships.
Up one week, down the next. Classic.
Pantoja sounds like the kind of bloke who turns up to a car boot and somehow ends up driving the Rolls 😂 what’s the move when you’re just trying to lose him in a casual roll? does he actually let you survive the first minute or does it just… vanish from under you?
Learn something new every day.