Joshua Van Defends UFC Flyweight Title Against Alexandre Pantoja
Joshua Van is still the man at 125 pounds. The champion from Myanmar survived five furious rounds with Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331, then walked out of Crypto.com Arena with a unanimous decision and his second successful title defense.
The scorecards – 49-46, 49-47, 50-45 – tell one story. The fight told another.
Van survives storm, then takes over
Pantoja came out like a man determined to rewrite history. Their first meeting ended early after a Pantoja injury; this time he wanted a statement. He snapped Van’s head back with sharp combinations, mixed in clean takedowns and, for a few minutes, dragged the champion into exactly the kind of fight he wanted.
Van did what Van always does. He started slow, read the patterns, and refused to panic.
The second round nearly flipped the script. Pantoja cracked Van with a heavy shot that sent the champion staggering, and in the chaos the two clashed heads. Pantoja immediately turned to Herb Dean, demanding a point deduction. Dean waved it off as accidental and ordered them to fight on.
That decision became a turning point.
Pantoja kept chaining takedown attempts. Van kept finding answers. The champion’s hands began to tell, his combinations slicing open existing cuts and painting Pantoja’s face a deeper shade of red. Each exchange chipped away at the Brazilian’s gas tank and the early momentum he’d built.
By the championship rounds, the dynamic had flipped. Van was marching forward, Pantoja was breathing heavy, and the scorecards were sliding towards the champion.
Championship rounds, championship composure
The fifth round removed any doubt.
Van, still fresh, pressed the pace and finally dropped Pantoja with a clean shot. He pounced, hunting the finish and nearly closing the show with a keylock on the exhausted challenger. Pantoja dug deep and wriggled free, but the message was clear: this was Van’s night, and his belt.
The horn sounded with Van on top, literally and figuratively. No drama at the announcement, no controversy in the result. Just a 25-minute war and a champion who once again proved he’s built for it.
The flyweight division still runs through Myanmar’s quiet killer.
Tsarukyan leaves no doubt in title hunt
If Arman Tsarukyan needed a statement to demand another shot at lightweight gold, he delivered it with elbows and bad intentions.
Booked in a five-round fight with Mauricio Ruffy, Tsarukyan only needed 4:56 of the first. Ruffy initially did well to stuff takedowns and keep the fight standing, forcing Tsarukyan to work. That brief success didn’t last.
As the round wore on, Tsarukyan tightened the screws. He forced Ruffy into the kind of close-quarters exchanges where he thrives, then detonated two vicious elbows that shut the Brazilian down just seconds before the horn.
The finish was brutal, emphatic, and exactly the kind of audition a contender needs. The question of a title shot followed immediately. The answer, on a night like this, feels obvious.
Patricio Pitbull brings Bellator menace to the Octagon
The UFC is getting the full Patricio Pitbull experience now.
The former Bellator champion, long considered one of the best featherweights outside the promotion, collected his second UFC win and his first finish under its banner by dismantling DooHo Choi.
Pitbull walked Choi down from the opening bell, piling on pressure and refusing to give the Korean fan-favorite any space to set his feet. Choi simply couldn’t keep him off. One huge shot on the chin sent Choi crashing to the canvas, and Pitbull wasted no time, hammering away with ground-and-pound until the referee stepped in at 3:28 of the first.
It was ruthless, vintage Pitbull – and a clear warning to the rest of the division.
Twelve seconds that shook heavyweight: Sharaf stuns Steveson
Sean Sharaf walked in as a massive underdog. He left with one of the most shocking knockouts of the year.
Gable Steveson, billed as the heavyweight division’s next big thing, barely had time to get going. Twelve seconds into the opening round, Sharaf uncorked a perfect punch that dropped the Olympic wrestling star. He followed with ground-and-pound to seal a stunning upset and his first UFC win in three fights.
In one swing, the hype train derailed, and a career in desperate need of momentum suddenly had it.
Vera fights for his ranking – and his future
Marlon Vera didn’t just fight Charles Jourdain. He fought for his place in the sport.
On a four-fight skid and coming in as the betting underdog, Vera entered the cage with his top-15 bantamweight ranking hanging by a thread. Jourdain, riding three straight wins, was supposed to be the one climbing past him.
Vera tore that script up.
Sharper, faster, and more ruthless on the feet, the Ecuadorian repeatedly found Jourdain’s chin. He dropped him once. Then again. Then a third time. After the third knockdown in the third round, Jourdain had seen enough and signaled to the referee, who waved it off at 2:02.
It wasn’t just a win. It was a necessary reset for a veteran who refused to be pushed quietly out of the rankings.
O’Neill flips the script with airborne armbar
Casey O’Neill’s third straight win might be her most dramatic yet.
Eduarda Moura came out with a clear plan: get the fight down and keep it there. She did just that early, controlling O’Neill on the mat and threatening with a tight d’arce choke that looked close to ending the night.
O’Neill slipped free and kept looking for a way out from bottom. Just past the three-minute mark, she found something better.
She elevated Moura, flipped her over, and in the chaos snatched an arm. Moura tapped almost instantly at 3:22 of the first round. One moment O’Neill was defending submissions; the next, she was handing out one of her own.
A sudden, violent momentum swing – and a win that will stick in the matchmakers’ minds.
Other UFC 331 results
Alonzo Menifield edged Iwo Baraniewski by split decision in a tight main-card scrap, while the prelims produced their own drama.
Marlon Vera’s stoppage of Charles Jourdain headlined the undercard, but heavy-hitting Robelis Despaigne squeezed past Tai Tuivasa via split decision, and Michael Aswell Jr. did the same against JooSang Yoo.
Ryan Gandra needed just 2:04 to stop Ozzy Diaz with punches, Edmen Shahbazyan banked a composed unanimous decision over Brunno Ferreira, and Joanderson Brito blasted through Giga Chikadze with a first-round knockout.
On a night full of chaos, comebacks, and broken expectations, one thing stayed the same: Joshua Van walked in with the flyweight belt and walked out with it. The question now isn’t whether he’s champion. It’s how long anyone at 125 can keep up with the pace he sets over 25 unforgiving minutes.
