Joshua Van Defeats Alexandre Pantoja to Retain Flyweight Title at UFC 331

LOS ANGELES – The first meeting ended in chaos. The rematch ended in clarity.

Joshua Van is still the UFC flyweight champion, and this time there are no asterisks, no injuries, no “what ifs.” Just 25 brutal, breathless minutes and a unanimous decision over Alexandre Pantoja in a fight that felt like it might never slow down.

Scores read 49-46, 49-47, 50-45 for Van at Crypto.com Arena, but those numbers barely touch what unfolded.

Van Starts Slow, Then Takes Over

Pantoja came out like a man trying to erase the past. He pushed Van backward immediately, mixing sharp punches with well-timed takedowns, dragging the champion into his kind of fight – messy, physical, suffocating.

Van did what he always does. He took his time. He read. He absorbed.

In the second round, Pantoja cracked him with a heavy shot that left the champion on shaky legs. As Van tried to regain his balance, the two clashed heads accidentally. Pantoja exploded in protest, appealing to referee Herb Dean for a point deduction. Dean waved it off. Accidental. No foul.

Pantoja went back to work, hunting takedowns and top control. Van answered with the one thing that always travels: clean, mean combinations. His hands began carving up Pantoja’s face, opening cuts and forcing the Brazilian to pay every time he stepped into range.

The tide turned on the scorecards long before it turned on Pantoja’s body.

Championship Rounds, Championship Engine

By the fifth, the pace had taken its toll. Pantoja’s gas tank sagged. Van’s did not.

The champion from Myanmar pressed forward, now the one dictating terms. He dropped Pantoja in the final round, then nearly closed the show with a keylock on the mat. Pantoja, as stubborn as ever, refused to surrender and wriggled free, but the message was clear: this was Van’s night, Van’s belt, Van’s division.

The horn sounded with Van pouring it on, a fitting finish to his second successful title defense. No controversy this time. Just a champion who had to walk through fire and chose not to blink.

Tsarukyan Makes His Statement – And His Case

If there was any doubt about Arman Tsarukyan’s place in the title picture, he did his best to erase it in under a round.

Promised that a win over Mauricio Ruffy could lead to a title shot, Tsarukyan treated the opportunity like a deadline. He didn’t wait.

Ruffy initially did well, stuffing early takedown attempts and forcing Tsarukyan to strike with him. It didn’t last. As the first round wore on, Tsarukyan’s pressure tightened. The scrambles started to break Ruffy’s posture. The openings appeared.

With seconds left in the round, Tsarukyan found his finish – two vicious elbows that sent Ruffy crashing, the clock reading 4:56 of the first. A statement, delivered with bad intentions.

The question now is simple: did he finally do enough to secure another title shot? On this evidence, there’s only one logical answer.

Patricio Pitbull Arrives – Properly – In The Octagon

The version of Patricio Pitbull that terrorized Bellator showed up under UFC lights.

Against the favored DooHo Choi, Pitbull wasted no time reminding everyone why his name has carried weight for a decade. He marched forward, crowding Choi, ripping punches, refusing to give the Korean any air to breathe.

Choi couldn’t handle the pressure. One massive punch from Pitbull detonated on his chin and sent him crashing to the canvas. The Brazilian pounced, unloading ground-and-pound until the referee stepped in at 3:28 of the first round.

It was Pitbull’s second UFC win, but his first finish inside the Octagon – and it came against a respected, dangerous opponent. Vintage stuff from a man who looks far from done.

Sharaf Stuns Steveson In Twelve Seconds

Every card needs its shock. UFC 331 got one that will live on replay for years.

Sean Sharaf walked in as a massive underdog against Gable Steveson, the heavyweight prospect billed as the next big thing. He walked out with the biggest win of his career and a stunned arena.

Twelve seconds. That’s all it took.

Steveson, the rising star of the division, barely had time to settle before Sharaf uncorked a perfect punch that sat him down. Sharaf swarmed with ground-and-pound, forcing the stoppage and silencing the hype – at least for now.

It was Sharaf’s first win in three UFC fights. The manner of it, though, might just change his entire trajectory.

Vera Refuses To Fall Out Of The Rankings

Marlon Vera came into UFC 331 fighting for more than a win. He was fighting for relevance.

Four straight losses had dragged him to the edge of the bantamweight top 15. Across from him stood Charles Jourdain, riding three consecutive victories and pushing hard for a ranking of his own.

Vera responded like a man with no interest in being replaced.

Sharper, quicker, and meaner on the feet, the Ecuadorian repeatedly found Jourdain’s chin. He dropped him once. Then twice. Then a third time. After that third knockdown in the third round, Jourdain had seen enough and signaled to the referee, effectively conceding.

The stoppage came at 2:02 of the final frame. Vera keeps his number next to his name. For now, the door to the rankings stays closed behind him.

O’Neill Turns The Tables In An Instant

Casey O’Neill’s win over Eduarda Moura on the early prelims was the kind that can reshape a fighter’s confidence.

For most of the first round, Moura had everything her way. She shot early, landed the takedown, and controlled O’Neill on the mat. A d’arce choke looked dangerously close, the kind of position that usually ends nights.

O’Neill refused to accept it.

Just past the three-minute mark, she created space, elevated Moura, and flipped her over. In the scramble, she snatched an arm. Moura tapped almost instantly to the armbar at 3:22 of the first round.

From nearly finished to emphatic submission in seconds. That’s three straight wins now for O’Neill and a reminder that momentum can turn on a single mistake.

Other UFC 331 Results

Main Card

• Joshua Van def. Alexandre Pantoja via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-47, 50-45)
• Arman Tsarukyan def. Mauricio Ruffy via knockout (elbows) – R1, 4:56
• Patricio Pitbull def. DooHo Choi via knockout (punches) – R1, 3:28
• Sean Sharaf def. Gable Steveson via knockout (punches) – R1, 0:12
• Alonzo Menifield def. Iwo Baraniewski via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary Card

• Marlon Vera def. Charles Jourdain via TKO (punch) – R3, 2:02
• Robelis Despaigne def. Tai Tuivasa via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Michael Aswell Jr. def. JooSang Yoo via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ryan Gandra def. Ozzy Diaz via TKO (punches) – R1, 2:04

Early Preliminary Card

• Edmen Shahbazyan def. Brunno Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Casey O’Neill def. Eduarda Moura via submission (armbar) – R1, 3:22
• Joanderson Brito def. Giga Chikadze via knockout (punches) – R1, 1:57

On a night of violent swings and sudden endings, Joshua Van walked through a war and came out still wearing gold. The rest of the flyweight division has its answer: the champion isn’t fading, he’s hardening.