Alexandre Pantoja is a true rags-to-riches story. The Brazilian fighter worked as an Uber Eats driver while fighting as a Top 5 fighter in the UFC so that he could provide for his family. Now Pantoja is on top of the flyweight division and enjoying his spoils.
During Alexandre Pantoja’s reign as RFA flyweight champion, he was invited to the UFC via the TUF 24 tournament of champions. The UFC had gathered MMA flyweight champions from different promotions to compete for a shot at the UFC’s 125-pound title.
While Pantoja did not win the event, he picked up notable wins over future champion Brandon Moreno and current contender Kai Kara-France. The two wins caught the UFC’s attention and they ended up signing Pantoja after the TUF 24 Finale.
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Pantoja had a decent 6-3 start to his UFC career but after losing to Askar Askarov at UFC Fight Island 2 in 2020, he picked up consecutive victories over Manel Kape, Brandon Royval, and Alex Perez to earn a shot at the UFC flyweight title At UFC 290, he defeated Moreno to become the UFC flyweight champion.
Pantoja went on to successfully defend the belt against Royval last December at UFC 296 and will put the belt on the line once again this coming May 4th at the main event of UFC 301 at the Farmassi Arena in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro.
Before Pantoja reached the top of the sport, he was struggling to make ends meet as a Top 5 UFC contender. During an appearance at Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour, Alexandre admitted that heading to his 2021 bout against Royval, he doubled as an Uber Eats driver to provide for his family.
“After the pandemic, after my fight with Manel [Kape]. …In the pandemic my family [moved] back to Brazil because [I couldn’t take care of them in the U.S.], I came back to the U.S. again alone. Eight months without my family….When my family came back, the money [was] short, you know?”
“My wife started to clean houses and I started to drive Uber. [I’d] do this again if I need, you know? Because it’s not just about myself, this is about my family…I’d drive Uber, I did some Jiu-Jitsu tournaments to help, and after the fight with [Brandon] Royval, one week before that fight I’m delivering Uber Eats.”
Pantoja beat Royal and earned a $50,000 (~$77,000 AUD) bonus for Performance of the Night. That bonus, coupled with the $60,000 (~ $92,400 AUD) base pay, $60,000 (~$92,400 AUD) win bonus, and $11,000 (~$16,900 AUD) apparel pay gave Pantoja a career-best $181,000 (~ $278,900 AUD) payout and according to him, that was the game changer.
In his next bout against Alex Perez, Pantoja topped his previous fight’s earnings with an aggregate income of $205,000 (~ $315,900 AUD) which included another Performance of the Night bonus. When he fought for the belt against Moreno, Pantoja’s pay ballooned to $932,000 (~ $1.436 million AUD). During his first title defence last December, the new champion earned $957,000 (~$1.459 million AUD)
With his recent string of success, Alexandre Pantoja was able to build a house for his family in the United States. And with his family around him more, he has been able to focus on his career and achieve greater things. Financially, he is also more secure.
According to reports, he has a 2023 net worth of $1 million USD (~$1.54 million AUD) to $1.5 million USD(~$2.31 million AUD), which isn’t too shabby, considering he was born poor in Brazil and had to literally work his way to the top.