UFC 331: Joshua Van defends flyweight title in dominant rematch against Alexandre Pantoja

UFC 331 brought the Octagon back to the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, with a card headlined by the highly anticipated rematch between the UFC’s flyweight champion Joshua Van and its former holder Alexandre Pantoja.

The two men first met at UFC 323, but their first encounter lasted just under 30 seconds after then-champion Pantoja suffered an injury, handing the young Van the flyweight gold in rather bizarre circumstances.

With Van looking to prove this win was no fluke and Pantoja desperate to reclaim the belt, the main event had a lot at stake.

Before the rematch, Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy went head-to-head in a five-round lightweight co-main event, with Tsarukyan looking to strengthen his case for a title shot while Ruffy looked to break into the division's elite.

And there was certainly no shortage of drama before the main event, with Patricio Pitbull, Sean Sharaf, Alonzo Menifield and Marlon Vera adding wins to their records on a card which delivered plenty of drama.

The rematch got off to a frantic start, with Pantoja immediately taking Van down before the champion managed to escape, turning the tables on his opponent.

Both men traded heavy blows throughout the first round, with Pantoja's late takedown potentially giving him the edge in the round.

Pantoja pushed the pace in the second, but Van's takedown defence started to frustrate the former champion. Van’s boxing became more effective as the fight progressed, with his jab and counters continually finding their mark.

Van then took total control of the third round, battering Pantoja with combinations while the Brazilian struggled to find the same success with his wrestling.

Pantoja continued to march forward, but Van's volume was becoming increasingly difficult to deal with.

The fourth round saw Pantoja finally find another takedown and spend extended time controlling Van against the fence. 
However, Van did enough from the bottom and eventually worked back to his feet, with Pantoja unable to produce enough damage to steal the round.

By the fifth and final round of the bout, Van was firmly in control. A huge right hand dropped Pantoja midway through the round, with the champion following him to the ground before briefly attacking an arm submission.

Pantoja survived and made it back to his feet, but Van continued pouring on the pressure until the final bell.

The judges awarded Van the fight 49-46, 49-47 and 50-45, cementing his position as the UFC's flyweight champion.

After the fight, Van addressed those who questioned his first victory over Pantoja, saying: “A lot of people said that was an accidental win the first time. Doubt me now.”

Arman Tsarukyan sent a clear message to the top end of the lightweight division after knocking out Mauricio Ruffy in the opening round of the evening’s co-main event.

Both men began cautiously, with Ruffy doing an excellent job defending Tsarukyan's early takedown attempts.

The Armenian did eventually manage to get Ruffy down, but he was straight back to his feet, forcing Tsarukyan to continue working against the fence.

Tsarukyan continued to look for the takedown but struggled to keep Ruffy grounded. Instead, he found success with his elbows in close.

A perfectly timed elbow caught Ruffy flush and left him badly hurt, before another follow-up shot sent the Brazilian crashing to the canvas unconscious.

Referee Jason Herzog quickly stepped in to stop the contest, handing Tsarukyan a huge knockout victory.

The victory certainly strengthens Tsarukyan's case for another shot at the lightweight title. If there were doubts over whether he had done enough to earn one before, knocking out Ruffy gives him another major result to add to his case.

Wasting hardly any time, former two-division Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull only needed roughly three minutes to stop Doo Ho Choi in the opening round of their featherweight contest.

The fight started slowly, with both men taking their time and figuring out their ranges. The Brazilian began to mix up his strikes really well, going from body to head before landing a huge right hand that badly rocked Choi.

Pitbull immediately went in for the finish, swarming the South Korean featherweight as he was forced to cover up from the incoming bombs.

At 39 years old, Pitbull came into the fight with questions over how much he had left following mixed results since joining the UFC. Tonight, the former champion answered those questions in emphatic fashion.

One of the biggest upsets of UFC 331 saw Sean Sharaf hand Gable Steveson the first defeat of his MMA career with a brutal first-round knockout.

Steveson, who entered the bout undefeated and as a huge betting favourite while making his second UFC appearance, was dropped by a perfectly timed 1-2 combination from Sharaf.

The former Olympic wrestling gold medallist was out cold almost instantly, with the referee stepping in to stop the contest with just 12 seconds having passed.

Sharaf, once a marine, came into tonight looking for his first UFC victory after suffering consecutive knockout defeats in his first two Octagon appearances. He certainly couldn't have asked for a better way to get it.

Steveson opted not to remain inside the Octagon after his loss, leaving before the referee could hold aloft Sharaf’s hand as the winner of the contest.

Alonzo Menifield opened the UFC 331 main card by handing Iwo Baraniewski the first loss of his professional MMA career.
Both light heavyweights traded big shots from the first bell, with both men having success. The pace eventually slowed as the fight wore on, but neither man was willing to give an inch.

Menifield battled through a nasty gash to his finger, with the doctor checking the injury before the third round went ahead. 
Despite the setback, the American showed plenty of toughness to see the fight through and do enough to earn the split decision, winning 29-28 on two judges' scorecards.

For the first time, Baraniewski went the full distance in his MMA career, with his previously undefeated record finally coming to an end. After the fight, Menifield showed off his rather gruesome thumb, giving the crowd a real look at the damage he had battled through to pick up the win.

After a tough run of results for the Ecuadorian fighter, Marlon Vera stopped Charles Jourdain at 2:02 of the third round of their bantamweight battle.

Vera applied steady pressure throughout the opening two rounds before the damage eventually caught up with Jourdain in the final round.

A perfectly placed left hook from Vera sent his Canadian opponent stumbling backwards onto the Octagon floor, with Jourdain unable to recover from Vera's onslaught.

The win ends a four-fight losing streak for Vera, whose last victory came against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292.

Robelis Despaigne secured a split-decision victory over Tai Tuivasa in an ugly heavyweight contest, handing the Australian his eighth consecutive UFC defeat.

Despaigne started strongly, landing heavy shots and hurting Tuivasa early, but the Cuban appeared to tire as the fight progressed.

Tuivasa took advantage in the second round, controlling much of the action in the clinch and against the fence, before Despaigne's late takedown and top control proved enough to sway two of the judges in his favour.

Making history in the worst way possible, Tuivasa's defeat to Despaigne sees him join Tony Ferguson in holding the longest losing streak in UFC history, with both men having suffered eight consecutive defeats inside the Octagon.

Coming into the bout on a two-fight losing streak, Michael Aswell Jr. needed to put on a performance against JooSang Yoo, which he did.

Aswell kept the pressure on throughout the fight, landing more total strikes. Yoo did find some success with his wrestling in the third round, securing a takedown and controlling the fight for a period, but failed to make the most of it as Aswell eventually returned to his feet, doing enough to earn the split-decision victory.

Ryan Gandra's dominant display was more than enough to pick up the win against Ozzy Diaz in their middleweight bout.

The win gives Gandra, who goes by the nickname ‘Problema’, his fifth consecutive first-round finish, living up to the name yet again.

Pressure from the Brazilian backed Diaz up against the Octagon fence, allowing Gandra to land a barrage of shots before the referee stepped in to save his opponent from further damage.

Edmen Shahbazyan had his hand raised after going the distance with Brunno Ferreira, earning a unanimous-decision victory and leaving the Octagon with a 17-6 record.

Towards the end of their close middleweight contest, Ferreira spun after the impact of Shahbazyan’s strikes, but the Californian native didn’t have enough time to capitalise. The defeat leaves Ferreira 0-3 across his last three bouts, having not won since battling Marvin Vettori at UFC 323.

Casey O’Neill also impressed on the early prelims, submitting Eduarda Moura inside the first round of their flyweight bout.

After initially being locked into an anaconda choke by her opponent, O’Neill managed to escape before elegantly elevating Moura, flipping her over and locking in an armbar which saw the Brazilian immediately tap out.

If that submission by O’Neill isn't in the conversation for ‘Submission of the Year’, then something's not right.

Opening the evening, Joanderson Brito added another win to his record with a first-round TKO victory over Giga Chikadze in their featherweight bout.

Hammer-fists rained down from the Brazilian, giving his opponent nowhere to hide before the referee eventually stopped the fight just 1:57 into the opening round.

The defeat extended Chikadze's losing streak to three consecutive fights, having not had his hand raised inside the Octagon since 2023.