First Coach of Alexandre Pantoja Discusses Student’s ‘Pure Bravery’ in Training

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Some people knew Alexandre Pantoja was going all the way to the top when he was just a youngling.

Pantoja, the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion, defends his title on May 4 in his home country of Brazil. “The Cannibal” lived part of his life in Copacabana and later in Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Currently residing in Florida to train at American Top Team, Pantoja will compete in Brazil for the first time since 2013 when he faces surging contender Steve Erceg in the UFC 301 main event.

Pantoja's first coach, Petterson Melo, taught in the beach town of Arraial do Cabo. He highlighted that his pupil already showed signs of a promising future from his first steps inside the Luiz Alves Training Center, which to this day remains a staging ground for the formation of new talents in the Lakes Region. Melo spoke to Sherdog about his student’s past, and others that trained with him over the years.

“The boy was pure bravery,” recalled Melo. “Since he arrived, you could already see in his eyes and in his attitudes during training that he would go far. I saw in him the same [way] that I saw in Jose Aldo. Not by chance, we won everything here in Brazil, and through total merit and dedication, he is where he is today. I’m a big fan of him.”

Pantoja was not the only talent discovered and sharpened by Melo at CTLA who went on to represent Brazil on international stages. Besides him, Otto Rodrigues, who has a fight scheduled this weekend in the Professional Fighters League, and Alexandre Cirne, who has already competed in countries like China, Japan and Russia.

“I still follow Otto Rodrigues’ training sessions, currently in the PFL, which acquired Bellator. I no longer train Pantoja, but I continue to cheer for him and follow his career just as I followed the trajectory of guys like Antonio Minotauro and Jose Aldo,” Melo concluded.