A rematch is on tap for Cali.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is headed back to Crypto.com Arena — a.k.a. Staples Center — in Los Angeles, California, for UFC 311 on Sat., Sept. 19, 2026, and the promotion is bringing a pretty loaded card with it.
In the main event, UFC Flyweight champion Joshua Van runs it back with longtime champion Alexandre Pantoja after their first encounter ended in an awful injury.
In the co-main event, No. 2-ranked Lightweight and almost-title challenger Arman Tsarukyan
finally returns to action against Brazilian knockout artist Mauricio Ruffy in a five-round fight with major title implications.
Pantoja and Van collided in the co-main event of UFC 323, but the fight lasted only 26 seconds after then-champion Pantoja dislocated his elbow and Van became champion in one of the most unfortunate title changes in recent memory.
Since then, Van (17-2) has defended the Flyweight title once, doing so at UFC 328 when he knocked out Tatsuro Taira in the fifth round (watch highlights). Van is riding a seven-fight win streak, with three of those wins coming by finish and two of those fights being considered “Fight of the Year” contenders.
Meanwhile, Pantoja (30-6) has obviously been rehabbing and recovering from the injury that cost him his title. Prior to losing the belt in devastating fashion, the Brazilian had rattled off eight straight wins, which included winning the Flyweight championship and defending it four times.
Now, Pantoja gets the chance to win back the belt he never really lost in a fight.
Tsarukyan (23-3) last competed inside the Octagon in UFC Qatar’s main event, demolishing Dan Hooker in two rounds (watch highlights).
However, the Armenian contender has stayed extremely active outside UFC’s Octagon, competing for Real American Freestyle (RAF). Tsarukyan is 7-1 under RAF’s banner, most recently suffering his first promotional loss to Colby Covington in RAF 11’s main event (watch highlights).
“Ahalkalakets” will also be returning to the city where he lost his chance to fight Islam Makhachev for the undisputed UFC Lightweight title after withdrawing one day before UFC 311.
So, naturally, after all of that, Tsarukyan gets a dangerous, surging knockout artist instead of a title fight.
Poor Arman.
Ruffy (14-2) was last in action at UFC Freedom 250, where he absolutely demolished former UFC title challenger Michael Chandler, knocking him out in the first round. Before that, Ruffy stopped Rafael Fiziev at UFC 325 four months prior (watch highlights).
UFC 331 is shaping up to be one of the most interesting cards of the fall, with Van and Pantoja settling unfinished business at the top, and Tsarukyan trying to avoid disaster against one of the scariest rising Lightweights in the sport.
Welcome back to Los Angeles.
For more information on UFC 331, click here.
