UFC Vegas 111 winner feels he matches up well with Alexandre Pantoja

One winner on the recent UFC Vegas 111 card thinks he can be a difficult fight for Alexandre Pantoja.

Joseph Morales was in action in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 111 this past Saturday. He shared the Octagon with Matt Schnell inside the UFC Apex. Morales secured a first-round submission finish via guillotine choke.

During the UFC Vegas 111 post-fight press conference, Morales talked about maximizing his opportunity (via MMAJunkie).

“(For UFC) to have the confident to put me in a co-main event, and to have a performance like that – it’s amazing,” Morales told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC Fight Night 264. “I’m happy to be here in the UFC and I’m just grateful to have the opportunity, and hopefully those opportunities still continue.”

Morales then turned his attention to the future. He shared his belief that he would give reigning UFC Flyweight Champion Pantoja a run for his money.

“I think Pantoja’s one of the greatest flyweights of all time,” Morales said. “I honestly would love for him to win because I feel I match up great with him. I feel like his striking is really good, but I just have the IQ and his jiu-jitsu is great, but so is mine. I feel I’d be able to match that.”

Pantoja is scheduled to put his gold at stake during the UFC’s year-end pay-per-view event. He will put his 125-pound gold at stake against Joshua Van in the co-main event of UFC 323 on Dec. 6. The main event of the card will be a rematch between UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan.

As for Morales, he’ll look to keep working his way up for a chance to prove he’s ready for the elite crop of flyweight talent. He’s riding a five-fight winning streak, which can be extended to seven if you count his two exhibition wins on “The Ultimate Fighter.”