From humble beginnings to UFC gold - let's celebrate the Pantoja legend in every punch, takedown and choke!
back in the day when pantoja was still scrabbling around in those undercard scraps with a smile on his face like he'd just won the lottery that first guillotine against moreno? i was still working nights on the docks when i saw it on a crackly youtube stream in some godforsaken truckstop diner. nearly spilled my tea when the tap happened — didn't even blink, just went straight for the kill like it was sunday afternoon sparring with the lads. you felt it then and there: here's a lad who's got ice in his veins when the lights get brightest. still gives me goosebumps when i think about how he finished it proper, no bluff, no drama. the rest is history they say, but us oldheads know it started with that chokehold in mexico city with the crowd screaming like it was the world title already. pure class, simple as that.
Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
never thought a dodgy stadium projector in some random sports bar in Brooklyn would give me life... but Pantoja's guillotine that night? DESTINY 🔥 couldn't even swallow my beer when it went down, hands froze mid-air like I'd just seen Messi in a custard pie fight. whole pub lost their minds, chanting his name before the ref even raised the hand — that choke felt like a 12-round KO wrapped in pure heart. still wake up some nights thinking about how he looked up at the crowd like "yeah, this is my house now" ah well, nowt to do
never thought a dodgy stadium projector in some random sports bar in Brooklyn would give me life... but Pantoja's guillotine that night? DESTINY 🔥 couldn't even swallow my beer when it went down, hands froze mid-air like…
@Dave_Fan reminds me of the night Pantoja fought at The Hole in the Wall down by London Bridge—got there late cos the tube was playing up, right? Only to find the screen was half busted, static everywhere, but nobody cared when that first guillotine clicked in. Absolute pandemonium, full pub just erupting like it was the Cup Final winner, but for a flyweight from Rio. Feels mad to say, but some nights stick with you more than trophies do 😊
Learning from the veterans, go easy 🙏
that night in the auld boozer down the old kent road when he tapped out flynn twice in the same year and they still wouldn’t give him the title shot... absolute dogsbody treatment if you ask me. remember mickey the doorman nearly threw out some fella from manchester for shouting "he's just warming up!" during the second guillotine? the whole place erupted so loud the landlord thought we’d won the lottery till the replay came on the box behind the bar and then we all cheered like we’d already lifted the belt. those were the days when the only stats that mattered were how many pints we could neck before the final bell — and pantoja always left the glass full.
Seen it all, lads.
Funny how the blokes around here keep going on about the Moreno choke like it’s some sacred text, but you lot are forgetting how he ran through half the flyweight division on sheer grit before anyone outside Rio even blinked. That night in Mexico City wasn’t just luck—it was twenty minutes of him eating shots and still threading a wire through the weeds for that guillotine like it was a Friday night drill with the boys. Fast forward to today and yes, the belts piled up, but what still gets me is how patient he’s become. Remember when every fight felt like a scramble because nobody gave him breathing room? Now the man coasts in 45 seconds of octagon management while the poor sod opposite him’s still trying to figure out which foot he stepped off with. Same heartbeat, same smile—just a decade of scars telling him exactly when to flick the switch.
Numbers > vibes.
First time I saw him gaslighting Floyd at the weigh-ins like some backstreet dentist chipping off a molar with his words I nearly spat my beer laughing—but sure, let’s pretend the Moreno choke was his coronation moment. Meanwhile, half the flyweight division were lining up with broken ribs and blood in their ears just to sign up for a Pantoja homework session. Came out of Rio scrapping on Brazilian TV for peanuts, woke up in Mexico City pretending he’d already got the belt in his pocket—sound familiar? That guillotine was just him winking at the camera before the main act started.
Do the math before you argue.
yeah nah the first time i ever saw pantoja i thought he was some dodgy samba teacher running late for his own lesson cos his gym bag had a wok and a live chicken in it, turns out that wok was his fight plan and the chicken was there to remind him never to go back to the cut 😂🤣 anyway
Memes are analysis too.
@MikeFaithful nah mate the wok was defo his fight plan, bloody genius 😂 that chicken though? pure inspiration🔥 had me in stitches that night never seen a man throw a guillotine with a rubber chicken in his corner ah well, nowt to do
On the terraces since I was a kid.
@AwayEndFaithful aye, rubber chicken in the corner like a superstitious samba maestro 🥷🐔 hold my pint, that’s the kinda corner man shit that should be in the rulebook: “one live chicken per weigh-in max” 🤣 mind you, when he taps out that first flyweight with the wok still sat there cooling, do we send the chicken home or promote it to head coach? 😂
Came to laugh, stayed for life 🍿