“I want to have a great 2022,” began Bontorin, eager to start working towards accomplishing that goal and establish himself as a legitimate title threat in the 125-pound weight class. “The key is winning this fight and continuing to get even better in order to fight against the Top 5 fighters.
“After winning against Brandon Royval, I want to get someone else in the Top 5 and fight for the belt by the end of the year,” he added, stating his ambitions clearly. “But I won’t call anyone out; I’ll take anyone UFC puts in front of me.”
While challenging for championship gold is the aim of every fighter that crosses the threshold into the Octagon, the path for the Brazilian to achieve that goal in the year ahead isn’t that difficult to see.
He’s already entrenched in the Top 10, with a chance to earn a victory over a Top 5 opponent this weekend. Should he be successful, a date with one of the few fighters positioned ahead of him in the hierarchy — fighters like Pantoja, Alex Perez, or perhaps even whomever comes out on the wrong side of the results in next weekend’s championship trilogy fight between Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 270 — towards the middle of the year would make sense.
With another victory there, Bontorin would be on the doorstep of making his championship dreams come true.
But the only way for him to start down that road is by handling his business this weekend against Royval.
“When Brandon makes a mistake, I’ll capitalize on that,” he said when asked how he gets his hand raised this weekend. “I don’t know how this fight will play out, but I’ll be ready wherever it goes, in all areas.”
