What's next for the UFC Flyweight Division?

Alexandre Pantoja's run as flyweight champion seems to just be getting started after his first title defense victory over Brandon Royval at UFC 296 this past December. The flyweight belt had changed hands many times in recent years with the division yet to have a dominant champion since the departure of Demetrius Johnson from the UFC to ONE Championship. 

Pantoja can bring stability back to the division, as he is the most well-rounded fighter we have seen in recent years. His three victories over the #2 ranked Brandon Moreno and two victories over the #1 ranked Royval have put him in a position we do not see many champions, with few title challengers to face. While a rematch against Royval may now seem enticing after his decision win against Moreno just a few weeks ago, can you justify giving him another title shot immediately after losing his last opportunity?

Going down the rankings in the division, #3 is Amir Albazi. Albzai's 17-1 MMA record seems worthy of a title shot, however, with his last fight being an extremely controversial decision victory in his favor, he likely will not be given a title shot for that performance. In that fight, Kara-France more than doubled the number of significant strikes landed than his opponent Albazi, while also stuffing 8/9 of his takedown attempts in the 5-round bout. The decision certainly felt it would favor the Australian, but that was not the case, leaving both fighters in a position where they would need to win another fight convincingly to earn themselves a title shot. 

With all that being said, Pantoja can reign over this division for a while as there are no fighters that have looked as dominant as him recently. Of course, there are fighters on the rise such as Muhammed Mokaev and Matheus Nicolau, but they still have more to prove before getting their opportunity at Pantoja's belt. 

To keep the champion active, the UFC may be interested in scheduling another rematch with Brandon Royval sometime in the middle of the year, but having beaten him twice already, Pantoja should have a strong upper hand in that bout.