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Alexandre Pantoja may be wise to ride off into the sunset following UFC 331, at least that’s what Demetrious Johnson thinks.

Pantoja hoped to prove that he’s still the true king of the flyweight division when he shared the Octagon with Joshua Van a second time this past Saturday. Their first encounter ended prematurely when Pantoja suffered an arm injury. While the second clash was a five-round affair that earned “Fight of the Night” bonuses, it was Van who walked out of the Crypto.com Arena still the 125-pound ruler.

So, where does that leave Pantoja now? During a post-UFC 331 edition of the “Precision Pod,” Johnson told Israel Adesanya that he feels now would be a good time for Pantoja to walk away from pro MMA competition given his place in the flyweight division without a title (via MMAJunkie).

“It’s hard because he was a champion, and he’s beat Brandon Moreno, he’s beat Brandon Royval,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if he’s beat Manel Kape, but Manel Kape is going to be fighting Joshua Van next. So it’s kind of interesting because he’s in the no-man’s land where he’s beaten everyone already. The only guys he can fight now are just newcomers. He’s not going to fight Kyoji Horiguchi because they’re teammates. You don’t want to knock down an upcoming newcomer because Pantoja is 36. That’s where my black ass just goes, ‘Dog, ride off into the sunset. You don’t need to get hit. You don’t need concussions anymore. You’ve done your thing.'”

Whether or not Pantoja feels the same way remains to be seen. The former flyweight champion will be turning 37 in April, and he’s already cemented his legacy with a lengthy run at the top of his weight class. Pantoja has long dismissed the possibility of moving up to bantamweight, but perhaps the loss to Van will give him something to consider.

Where should Alexandre Pantoja go from here? Is retirement a strong possibility? If not, should he stick around at flyweight or move up to 135 pounds? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM