Last night at the T-Mobile Arena, Alexandre Pantoja’s fifth title defense took a shocking and dramatic turn. In front of thousands of fans, the Brazilian injured his arm while performing a break fall against Joshua Van just 26 seconds into the bout, dealing a severe blow to his reign. The unexpected end to Pantoja’s reign immediately sparked calls from fans across social media.

According to reports, during the post-fight broadcast, the UFC’s chief medical physician revealed that Alexandre Pantoja’s shoulder popped back into place on its own immediately after the injury. However, doctors still need to conduct a few additional tests. Despite the callout for a rematch, Dana White & Co. are not in the mood, as they are already focusing on UFC Japan next.

Dana White & Co. plan a historic Asian vs. Asian championship bout after UFC 323

Earlier this year, the UFC expanded into Qatar and Azerbaijan, and now the promotion is reportedly eyeing Japan for Joshua Van’s first title defense. This country has played a pivotal role in shaping the history of modern MMA.

Despite this, Dana White & Co. have never hosted an event in the country. This move marks the UFC’s return to the East/Southeast Asia region after a decade, following its previous stop at UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Faber in the Philippines.

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“Dana White says after tonight’s event, the UFC is going to start looking at venues in Japan. He likes the idea of Joshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira there #UFC323,” said Nolan King of MMA Junkie on X.

25-year-old Japanese sensation Tatsuro Taira also competed at UFC 323, securing a second-round knockout over Brandon Moreno. If the bout takes place, it would mark the first time in UFC history that two male Asian fighters compete for a UFC title, making it a historic matchup.

At the same time, 36-year-old Alexandre Pantoja finds himself at a pivotal moment in his career. Despite the setback, the Brazilian is already focusing on recovery and plans to return stronger.

Before heading to the hospital, ‘The Cannibal’ assured his fans that he would come back even better. “I’ve been through worse,” Alexandre Pantoja wrote on Instagram. “I’ll come back even stronger, you can be sure of that. Thank you for the messages.”

When talking about Joshua Van, Alexandre Pantoja admitted that he was not happy with how the fight ended. However, Dana White’s words gave him a boost and helped motivate him to keep moving forward.

Dana White shares Joshua Van’s reaction to Alexandre Pantoja’s brutal injury

Alexandre Pantoja is undoubtedly an elite fighter, but he ended up defeating himself after snapping his arm. Fans and online communities have also criticized his opponent, Joshua Van, who set a record by becoming the first UFC champion born in the 2000s. Many argue that ‘The Fearless’s win shouldn’t count as a “real” victory and are calling for an immediate title rematch once Pantoja recovers.

However, ‘The Cannibal’s injury makes that difficult. “We don’t have a timeframe on how long he’ll be out,” Dana White said during the UFC 323 post-fight press conference.

Dana White also revealed that Joshua Van approached him to apologize, though White made it clear the fighter had no reason to feel sorry. “I said, ‘Listen, there’s nothing to be sorry about. It’s a shtty way to lose the fight, but there’s no sh–y way to win a fight… Van won. It is what it is, things happen, congratulations to him.”

With the year coming to a close, the flyweight division experienced a major shakeup last night. It will be exciting to see how things unfold and how the division refreshes itself.