Johnson Tells Pantoja To Retire After UFC 331 Loss

Demetrious Johnson thinks Alexandre Pantoja should hang up the gloves after losing his flyweight title to Joshua Van at UFC 331.

Pantoja dropped a five-round decision to Van at the Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, falling short in his rematch with the champion. The fight earned both men Fight of the Night bonuses. Their first meeting ended early when Pantoja suffered an arm injury.

Why Johnson Sees Retirement As Pantoja's Best Move

Johnson told Israel Adesanya on the Precision Pod that the former champion has run out of meaningful fights at 125 pounds, per MMA Junkie. Pantoja has already beaten Brandon Moreno, Brandon Royval, and most of the top flyweights. He will not fight teammate Kyoji Horiguchi. Manel Kape faces Van next for the belt.

"It's kind of interesting because he's in the no-man's land where he's beaten everyone already," Johnson said. "The only guys he can fight now are just newcomers. He's not going to fight Kyoji Horiguchi because they're teammates. You don't want to knock down an upcoming newcomer because Pantoja is 36. That's where my black ass just goes, 'Dog, ride off into the sunset. You don't need to get hit. You don't need concussions anymore. You've done your thing.'"

Pantoja turns 37 in April. He has long dismissed moving up to bantamweight but could reconsider after the Van loss. The Brazilian built his legacy with a lengthy run at the top of the flyweight division.

Whether Pantoja agrees with Johnson's assessment remains unknown. The former champion has not publicly addressed his future since Saturday night.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Alexandre Pantoja should retire following UFC 331 loss, says Demetrious Johnson: “You’ve done your thing”