Alexandre Pantoja teammate Victor Dias vows to ‘hunt’ flyweights ‘one by one’ if given UFC shot
One of the men responsible for getting Alexandre Pantoja ready to challenge 125-pound champion Brandon Moreno for UFC gold is struggling to get his own day in the spotlight.
Titan FC flyweight champion Victor Dias is currently riding a five-fight winning streak but claims no flyweight is now willing to face him. Dias ended Ryskulbek Ibraimov’s eight-fight unbeaten run in his most recent title defense in September 2021, and then beat Thiago Belo at bantamweight this past November since there was no 125-pounder up for the task.
“I’m the Titan champion for two years and there’s no opponent for me out here,” Dias told MMA Fighting, requesting a UFC opportunity. “I’m sure they will run from me as well once I get [to the UFC], but I’ll hunt them one by one. I’m ready for any top 15 in my division.”
Dias started training jiu-jitsu at a young age in Nova Friburgo, Brazil, before meeting Edson Barboza and Marlon Moraes in the city. Dias followed them to Florida to train at American Top Team many years later, and said it’s his dream to join the UFC and give his family a better life.
“I belong in the UFC,” Dias said. “I belong in the top five of the UFC. I don’t say that because I think so, I say that because I know that. I train with the best. Alexandre Pantoja will fight for the belt and we train together. Ask Pantoja how good I am, if I’m tougher than the top 10 best in the UFC.”
Pantoja said on a recent episode of MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast that Dias “could easily be in the top 10 in the UFC.”
Dias also trains with the likes of Kyoji Horiguchi and Adriano Moraes over at ATT.
“When the opportunity comes, I’ll show the world I was right,” Dias said. “I have what it takes to become UFC champion, to be a top-five [fighter] in my division in the world’s biggest organization. The UFC is my next step. There’s no other place for me to go. The best fighters are in the UFC, and I know I’m better than them. If there’s any top 15 without a fight, let me know. I’ll fight any of them on a week’s notice.”