Joshua Van Retains Title Against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331

LOS ANGELES – The belt stays with Joshua Van, and this time there are no asterisks, no injuries, no shortcuts. Just 25 brutal, breathless minutes and a champion who refused to fade.

The flyweight king from Myanmar retained his title with a unanimous decision over Alexandre Pantoja in a high-pace war at UFC 331 inside Crypto.com Arena, the judges scoring it 49-46, 49-47 and 50-45. Their first meeting ended early last year when Pantoja was injured. This one went the distance and answered every lingering question.

Pantoja came out like a man determined to rewrite the story. He snapped Van’s head back with sharp punches, chained them into takedowns and tried to drag the champion into his kind of fight. Van, true to form, took a while to warm up. He absorbed, he read, he adjusted.

Champion’s Composure in Chaos

The second round brought the kind of chaos that can tilt a title fight. Pantoja cracked Van with a heavy shot that left the champion on unsteady legs. As they closed in, the two clashed heads accidentally. Pantoja immediately appealed to Herb Dean, demanding a point deduction, waving his arms in anger. Dean stood firm. No foul. No point.

From there, the fight sharpened into a clear contrast. Pantoja kept diving on legs, hunting takedowns, trying to grind. Van answered with cleaner, nastier work on the feet. His combinations sliced up the Brazilian’s face, reopening cuts and painting Pantoja in his own blood. Every time Pantoja forced a scramble, Van made him pay when they reset.

By the championship rounds, the challenger’s early surge had turned into a battle against exhaustion.

Van Slams the Door in the Fifth

The fifth round left no room for debate. Van, still marching forward, still fresh enough to put power on every shot, broke Pantoja’s resistance. He dropped the Brazilian, then swarmed, hunting a finish that would have erased the need for scorecards entirely.

A keylock attempt had the arena on edge, Pantoja twisting and straining to survive. He did. But he got up to face a champion who had already done enough.

The horn sounded with Van closing strong and Pantoja spent. Second title defense complete. Second win over a former champion. And this time, nothing fluky about it.

Tsarukyan Smashes His Way to a Title Shot

If Arman Tsarukyan needed a statement, he delivered it with elbows.

Promised that a win over Mauricio Ruffy could mean a title shot, Tsarukyan walked into a scheduled five-rounder and ended it in the first. Ruffy initially did well to stuff takedowns and keep the fight standing, showing off the work he’d done on his defensive wrestling.

That resistance didn’t last.

As the round ticked toward its final seconds, Tsarukyan seized control. He dragged Ruffy into his world, then uncorked two vicious elbows that shut the lights off at 4:56 of the opening frame. No debate, no controversy. Just a contender making the kind of violent argument that matchmakers struggle to ignore.

The question of whether Tsarukyan has finally done enough to earn another crack at gold now feels less like a debate and more like an inevitability.

Patricio Pitbull Brings Bellator Fire to the Octagon

The old Patricio Pitbull – the ruthless finisher who terrorized Bellator – showed up in UFC form.

Against favorite DooHo Choi, Pitbull wasted no time. He marched forward, poured on pressure and refused to let Choi find his rhythm. Every exchange seemed to tilt further toward the Brazilian as Choi struggled to cope with the tempo and power in front of him.

Then came the turning point: a thunderous punch on the chin that sent Choi crashing to the canvas. Pitbull followed with savage ground-and-pound, forcing the stoppage at 3:28 of the first round and securing his first UFC finish.

For a veteran with titles and miles behind him, this wasn’t nostalgia. It was a statement that he’s not just here to make up the numbers.

Sharaf Stuns Steveson in 12 Seconds

Sean Sharaf walked in as a massive underdog. He walked out with one of the most shocking knockouts of the year.

Gable Steveson entered UFC 331 as the heavyweight division’s most hyped prospect, a towering favorite expected to roll through Sharaf. Instead, 12 seconds was all it took for that script to burn.

Sharaf landed a perfect punch that dumped Steveson to the canvas, then pounced with ground-and-pound to finish the job. No feeling-out process, no slow build. Just a single, stunning swing of fortune and Sharaf’s first UFC win in three fights.

In a division where one shot can change everything, this one might echo for a long time.

Vera Fights for His Ranking – and His Future

Marlon Vera walked to the cage fighting for more than just a number next to his name. Four straight losses had put his top-15 bantamweight ranking – and his momentum – on the brink. Across from him, Charles Jourdain arrived with three wins in a row and all the betting confidence behind him.

Vera tore that script up.

Sharper, faster, and far more ruthless than he’s looked in recent outings, the Ecuadorian had Jourdain in trouble throughout. On the feet, Vera beat him to the punch, dropping him once, then twice, then a third time.

After the third knockdown in the third round, Jourdain had seen enough. He signaled to the referee, and the TKO came at 2:02. No wild celebration from Vera, just the release of a man who had clung on to his ranking and, perhaps, his relevance in a stacked division.

O’Neill Flips the Script – Literally

Casey O’Neill’s third straight win will live long in the highlight reels.

Eduarda Moura started their early preliminary bout exactly how she wanted: immediate takedown, heavy top control, and a near-finish with a tight d’arce choke. For most of the round, O’Neill was stuck underneath, defending, surviving.

Then everything changed in seconds.

Just past the three-minute mark, O’Neill exploded from bottom, elevating Moura and flipping her through the air. In the scramble, she snatched an arm. Moura tapped almost instantly to the armbar at 3:22 of the first round.

From nearly choked out to sudden submission winner, O’Neill turned a grinding round into a spectacular finish and quietly built a streak that demands attention in the flyweight ranks.

UFC 331 – Full 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 reputations rewritten, Joshua Van walked out exactly as he walked in – champion – but with a very different kind of authority strapped around his waist.