Alexandre Pantoja thinks Steve Erceg fight was huge moment for UFC flyweights: “I’ve always said this division is entirely tough”

Alexandre Pantoja believes his fight with Steve Erceg proved how deep the UFC flyweight division is.

Pantoja and Erceg shared the Octagon inside Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this past Saturday night. The title fight headlined UFC 301, and it ended with Pantoja successfully retaining his gold via unanimous decision. Make no mistake, however, this was a close encounter and the champion was forced to seal the deal in the final round with his grappling.

Now, Pantoja believes more eyeballs will be on the 125-pound weight class.

RELATED: ROBERT WHITTAKER DISAGREES WITH FANS SAYING STEVE ERCEG WAS ROBBED AT UFC 301: “I THOUGHT PANTOJA DID ENOUGH TO WIN”

Alexandre Pantoja Believes UFC 301 Was “Watershed Moment” For Flyweights

During the UFC 301 post-fight press conference, Pantoja said that UFC 301 showed fans and experts just how stacked the 125-pound division is (h/t MMAJunkie).

“I’ve always said this division is entirely tough,” Pantoja said at the UFC 301 post-fight news conference. “You can take the 10th-ranked guy and have him fight against the champion and you guys saw exactly that tonight. This division is all about work. You can’t move up in the rankings just by talking. I’m really happy to see this. I think it was a watershed moment for the division. We’ve been having main events in Mexico. There was a main event last week between flyweights, so I’m very happy to see this moment.”

Erceg didn’t make things easy for Pantoja, but the champion felt confident that he would have his hand raised as UFC Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer was reading the score totals.

“I think I clearly won the first three rounds of the fight,” Pantoja said. “The fourth round could’ve been his. The fifth round was mine. I definitely think it was 4-1. That guy was very tough. It’s what we say. This is a guy from Australia, a guy that’s very tough, a guy that people didn’t really know, and he came in there to die. He was prepared to die. I think that’s what it’s all about when you fight for the championship.”