""He did the first light sparring today," "Parrumpa" revealed the good news on Tuesday. "Everybody was able to see how hard the injury was, two months ago. But Pantoja is such a focused person, he worked hard to heal since day one. He can't wait to return and [get a finish] against Joshua Van.""
""If he returns [in] May, the revenge must be done," the coach pitched."
""In case he needs more time, probably [for the] UFC, I see [Manel] Kape and [Tatsuro] Taira with more chances to fight for the belt, with Kyoji [Horiguchi] coming in third place. The fact is that the same way lightweight depends on[Ilia] Topuria, flyweight depends on Pantoja.""
Alexandre Pantoja suffered a snapped arm early in his fifth consecutive title defense at UFC 323 in December, with tendon and ligament damage but no fractured bone. He reportedly recovered without surgery and completed his first light sparring session roughly two months after the injury. Coach Marcos da Matta ("Parrumpa") said Pantoja worked hard to heal and is eager to return and finish Joshua Van. Da Matta expects at least two more months for full strength recovery and will allow Pantoja as much time as needed. Da Matta named Manel Kape, Tatsuro Taira, and Kyoji Horiguchi as potential challengers and referenced Renato "Money" Moicano.
Read at Sherdog
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