Some knew that Alexandre Pantoja was on his way to the top even when he was still young.
Pantoja, the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion, will defend his title on May 4 in his native Brazil. “The Cannibal” spent part of his life in Copacabana, and later in Ajaial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pantoja, who is currently in Florida training with American Top Team, will fight in Brazil for the first time since 2013 when he faces rising contender Steve Arceg in the main event of UFC 301.
Pantoja’s first coach, Pettersson Melo, taught in the seaside town of Ajaial do Cabo. He emphasized that from the first steps into the Luis Alves Training Center, his students are already showing signs of a promising future. To this day, this training center continues to be a hub for forming new talent in the Lakes region. Mello told Sherdog about his student’s past and others who trained with him over the years.
“The boy had pure courage,” Melo recalled. “Ever since he arrived, I could already see in his eyes and his demeanor in practice that he was going to go far. I saw the same thing in him too. [way] What I saw in Jose Aldo. It is not by chance that we have won everything here in Brazil, but because of his thorough work and dedication, he is here today. I’m a big fan of his. ”
Pantoja was not the only talent discovered and honed by Melo at CTLA who went on to represent Brazil on the international stage. He is joined by Otto Rodriguez, who is scheduled to fight this weekend in the Professional Fighters League, and Aleksandr Cirne, who has already fought in countries such as China, Japan and Russia.
“I still follow the training sessions of Otto Rodriguez, who is in the PFL, who won Bellator. I don’t train Pantoja anymore, but if I’m like Antonio Minotauro or Jose Aldo, I will continue to support him and follow his career, just as I followed the trajectory of his players,” Melo concluded.
