Joshua Van Defends Flyweight Title Against Alexandre Pantoja
Joshua Van goes 25 brutal minutes, keeps his flyweight crown, and leaves Los Angeles with something more than a belt. He leaves as the man who outlasted Alexandre Pantoja in a fight that finally answered the question their first meeting never could.
Van–Pantoja II: Five Rounds, No What-Ifs
Their first clash ended with Pantoja injured and a cloud hanging over Van’s title win. No such caveat this time. At UFC 331 inside Crypto.com Arena, they emptied the tank for five ferocious rounds, and the judges were unanimous: 49-46, 49-47, 50-45 for the champion from Myanmar.
Pantoja came out like a man on a mission. He snapped Van’s head back with clean shots, chained them into takedowns, and forced the champion to work off his back foot. Van, true to type, started slow, reading, absorbing, refusing to panic.
Then came the second round, and the fight caught fire.
Pantoja drilled Van with a heavy shot that left the champion stumbling. As Van tried to recover, the two crashed heads in an accidental clash. Pantoja exploded in protest, pleading with Herb Dean for a point deduction. Dean waved it off. No intent, no penalty. The Brazilian had to swallow the frustration and get back to work.
He shot relentlessly for takedowns. Van answered with something colder: damage. Combinations began to slice Pantoja up, the champion’s hands carving fresh cuts into an already marked face. Every exchange left a little more of Pantoja on the canvas.
By the championship rounds, the tone had flipped. Pantoja’s early urgency had turned into visible fatigue. Van’s slow burn had become a steady blaze.
In the fifth, the champion slammed the door. Van dropped Pantoja, then hunted the finish with a keylock that had the Brazilian in real danger before he wriggled free. It didn’t matter. Van closed the show on top, pressing the action, making sure the judges had nothing to debate.
Second title defense. No controversy. Just a champion who took a former king’s best and broke him down over 25 unforgiving minutes.
Tsarukyan Demands His Shot
If Arman Tsarukyan needed a statement to get back to a title fight, he delivered it with elbows and bad intentions.
Booked for five rounds against Mauricio Ruffy, Tsarukyan only needed 4:56 of the first. He chased takedowns early, but Ruffy’s work on his defensive wrestling showed; the Brazilian stayed upright long enough to test Tsarukyan on the feet.
That window closed quickly.
As the round ticked toward the horn, Tsarukyan took over. He trapped Ruffy, uncorked two savage elbows, and shut the lights off with seconds remaining. One moment it was a tactical battle, the next Ruffy was crumpled on the canvas and Tsarukyan was walking away with the kind of finish matchmakers can’t ignore.
The UFC had already told both men a win could mean a title shot.
On this evidence, the answer to whether Tsarukyan has earned it isn’t really a question at all.
Patricio Pitbull Arrives, Properly This Time
The UFC has the vintage version of Patricio Pitbull now, and that should make a lot of featherweights uncomfortable.
The former Bellator champion walked into the Octagon against crowd favorite DooHo Choi and fought like a man with nothing left to prove and no interest in a slow build. He marched Choi down, poured on pressure, and refused to let the Korean puncher find his rhythm.
Then Pitbull found the chin.
One huge shot sent Choi crashing to the canvas. Pitbull pounced, hammering away with ground-and-pound until the referee stepped in at 3:28 of the first round. His first UFC finish, his second UFC win, and a reminder that his name still carries weight on either side of the promotional divide.
Against a respected operator like Choi, it wasn’t just a win. It was a warning.
Sharaf Stuns Steveson in 12 Seconds
Some knockouts change careers. Some change divisions. Sean Sharaf might have delivered both.
Lining up opposite Gable Steveson, the American Olympic wrestling star and the heavyweight division’s most hyped newcomer, Sharaf walked in as a massive underdog. On paper, this was supposed to be Steveson’s next step toward contention.
Twelve seconds later, he was staring up at the lights.
Sharaf uncorked a perfect punch that dumped Steveson to the canvas, then sealed the upset with a burst of ground-and-pound. Just like that, the prospect everyone had circled was done, and a man riding a two-fight skid had the biggest win of his UFC career.
It was Sharaf’s first victory in three UFC outings. It might be the one people remember for a very long time.
Vera Refuses to Fade
Marlon Vera walked into UFC 331 with his ranking hanging by a thread and four straight losses weighing on his shoulders. Across from him, Charles Jourdain, riding three consecutive wins, looked poised to push “Chito” out of the bantamweight top 15.
Vera had other plans.
Sharper, meaner, and more precise than he’s looked in months, the Ecuadorian took control on the feet. He beat Jourdain to the punch, dropped him once, then again, then again. Each knockdown chipped away at the Canadian’s resistance.
After the third trip to the canvas in the third round, Jourdain had seen enough. He signaled to the referee, and the fight was waved off at 2:02 of the final frame.
Vera didn’t just save his ranking. He reminded the division that he still has the tools—and the edge—to hurt anyone on the right night.
O’Neill Flips the Script
Casey O’Neill’s win over Eduarda Moura will live on every highlight reel of wild comebacks.
For most of their early preliminary bout, O’Neill was stuck underneath. Moura shot immediately, planted the flyweight on the mat, and controlled large chunks of the first round. At one point, she wrapped up a d’arce choke that looked close to the finish.
O’Neill refused to tap, wriggled free, and looked for daylight.
Just over three minutes into the round, she found it in spectacular fashion. From bottom, O’Neill elevated Moura, flipped her over, and snatched an arm in transition. Moura tapped almost instantly to the armbar at 3:22.
From nearly submitted to a sudden finish of her own, O’Neill extended her winning streak to three and announced herself as a real factor at 125 pounds.
Elsewhere at UFC 331
The card in Los Angeles ran hot from start to finish.
On the main card, Alonzo Menifield edged Iwo Baraniewski by split decision after a tight three-round battle, with scores of 28-29, 29-28, 29-28.
The prelims delivered chaos of their own. Robelis Despaigne squeezed past Tai Tuivasa via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) in a heavyweight clash of styles, while Michael Aswell Jr. and JooSang Yoo produced another narrow split, Aswell taking it 28-29, 29-28, 29-28. Ryan Gandra needed just 2:04 to stop Ozzy Diaz with first-round punches.
Edmen Shahbazyan got his hand raised on the early prelims, banking a unanimous decision over Brunno Ferreira (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), and Joanderson Brito crushed Giga Chikadze with a first-round knockout at 1:57.
But when the lights dimmed and the crowd filtered out of Crypto.com Arena, one image lingered: Joshua Van, belt over his shoulder, having gone the full 25 with Alexandre Pantoja and proven, without caveat, that he is the man to beat at flyweight.
The question now is not whether he’s a legitimate champion. It’s who, after a night like this, is brave enough to try and take that belt away.
