Alexandre Pantoja's team confirms UFC star hurt elbow against Joshua Van, denies shoulder injury reports

UFC 323: Pantoja v Van - Source: Getty
Alexandra Pantoja after losing his UFC 323 fight (Source: Getty)

Alexandre Pantoja suffered a terrible end to his title reign at UFC 323. The Brazilian couldn’t continue to fight after his left arm buckled while trying to protect himself in a fall against Joshua Van.

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Videos highlighted that it was Pantoja’s elbow that seemed to pop out, but officials claimed that he'd suffered a shoulder injury.

The former UFC flyweight champion was also seen nursing his elbow as he walked out of the octagon. However, Megan Olivi and Dana White confirmed that it was Pantoja’s shoulder that was injured.

Even the commentary team, featuring Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier, was surprised to hear from Olivi that Pantoja had injured his shoulder.

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Noted MMA journalist Ariel Helwani shared an update after the event, reporting that Pantoja’s team had confirmed that his elbow did indeed get injured. The tweet also questioned why the UFC kept pushing the narrative that the Brazilian’s shoulder was hurt.

“Alexandre Pantoja injured his elbow (as we all initially suspected) not his shoulder, per his team. Not sure why they kept saying after the event it was his shoulder. His team says no injury to his shoulder. The initial hope is it was a dislocation.”
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Check out Ariel Helwani’s tweet below:

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Dana White wants division to move on after Alexandre Pantoja’s injury

Dana White was asked about the Alexandre Pantoja injury during the UFC 323 post-fight press conference.

The UFC president reiterated that it was the Brazilian’s shoulder that had to be popped back in by the doctors backstage. However, he expected Pantoja to be out for a while and claimed that a title defense was on the cards without the former champion’s participation:

"They popped his shoulder back in. I thought it was the elbow. No, it was not his elbow, it was his shoulder... Now they've got to do the MRIs, and check out the ligaments, and see how it is. So, we don't have a time frame on how long he'll be out. No matter what happens, listen, I'm not a doctor or anything, but I don't see him coming back anytime soon. I think there will be a [title] defense before he comes back. I think he's going to need some time."

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Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim
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