“I spoke with the UFC’s chief medical physician, Dr. Jeff Davidson, he told me Pantoja had a left shoulder dislocation with spontaneous reduction,” Megan Olivi relayed the message to the prying audience on the UFC live broadcast. But it was a hard pill to swallow after the slowed replays of the Alexandre Pantoja UFC 323 fight displayed a clearly dislocated elbow and not his left shoulder.

The UFC commentators were, without a doubt, caught off guard as they countered. Joe Rogan circled down on his verdict that it was, without a doubt, the ‘Cannibal’s elbow that gave in. “We saw his elbow like literally leave the joint!” he exclaimed. Indeed, further imaging confirmed Rogan’s suspicions, causing the entire MMA fandom online to lash out at Olivi and the UFC officials.

Megan Olivi faces media heat after Alexandre Pantoja’s injury error

UFC broadcaster Megan Olivi is only the mediator between the many different links inside the promotion. She reported the words as the medics observed, triple-checking the facts. As fans threw digs at Olivi, mentioning how a random ‘Paul’ on the internet knows more than her and the UFC officials, MMA journalist Aaron Bronsteter stepped up to her defense.

“Megan is fantastic at what she does… she sought for further confirmation because that wasn’t what it appeared,” Aaron Bronsteter posted on X. “Reporters are not medical experts, so when people on social media are insisting that it was an elbow injury, she does her due diligence with the information available.”

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Megan Olivi reposted Bronsteter’s post on X as she expressed her gratitude to the journalist. “Thanks, Aaron. You nailed it. As a broadcast reporter the #1 rule is to never speculate or give opinions on things like injuries.”

She clarified her role as a UFC reporter, “It is my job to tell you & my broadcast partners who, in what role, gave us the info. I obviously saw it happen and did also say that he was getting imaging done Monday to determine the extent of/any other injuries.”

Olivi went so far as to circle back to the doctors to triple-check the information, while reporting on the visible cues of Pantoja’s freak injury. However, as a broadcaster, Olivi couldn’t do much except report what the medical professionals had relayed to her. The issue was a logistical mishap instead of a reporting error.

In fact, it’s not unnatural for the UFC itself to be at odds at times after unforeseen injuries, like that in the case of Tom Aspinall’s eye trauma. While medical reports confirmed clear damage to his eyes, White had a harder time buying it. But in the end, the fighters and UFC officials are not medical professionals to put forth their opinions in matters of injuries, and Olivi is much the same.

Building on that, the focus now shifts to how Dana White addressed Pantoja’s injury during the post-fight press conference and the impact his initial statements had on public perception.

Dana White’s first look at Alexandre Pantoja’s freak injury

At the post-fight conference, Dana White was bombarded with questions on the former flyweight’s medical fate. Speaking on the official reports shared by medical professionals, White confirmed that they popped Pantoja’s shoulder back in, claims which feel misleading now.

Moreover, White shared that the timeframe for Pantoja’s medical screening and recovery is vague, sidelining the fighter. He added, “No matter what happened, listen, I’m no f***ing doctor or anything, but I don’t see him coming back anytime soon. I think that there would be a [title] defense [by Van] before he comes back. I think he’s going to need some time.”

Alexandre Pantoja himself contradicted this statement, as he took to Instagram on Sunday, sharing with his following that he will return to the Octagon sooner than most expect. When he returns, we can expect a rematch between the flyweights, which Joshua Van stands by. “As soon as [Pantoja] is recovered, I want to run it back. I respect him so much, and he’s one of the greatest of all time,” Van shared.

But for now, it appears that Van’s first title defense will come against Japan’s Tatsuro Taira. Could the rising underdog retain his belt against one of the division’s top threats? Comment below.