It looks like Alexandre Pantoja will defend his UFC flyweight title next against Joshua Van at UFC 323 this coming December.
This is according to Pantoja’s teammate, Michael Aswell Jr., who leaked the impending UFC title fight during his post-fight interview earlier tonight at UFC Rio (results HERE). Aswell was successful in knocking out a potentially-injured Lucas Almeida to end the “Prelims” undercard before taking the microphone to say that Pantoja vs. Van was just announced, hoping he could land
a spot on the card.
Check it out below:
If Aswell is telling the truth, this is a great way to end 2025 for the UFC’s flyweight division. Pantoja has racked off four-straight UFC title defenses en route to joining the pound-for-pound ranks in MMA. The Brazilian champion is looking for new blood in hopes of continuing his reign as UFC’s 125-pound king. But even though Pantoja is undefeated in his last eight fights, he needs to be careful of these younger and surprisingly durable challengers.
Van, 24, has won his last five trips to the Octagon, including a Fight of the Night performance against former UFC flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval back in June. The young Van has shown many wrinkles to his game, but it’s his strengths on the feet and his takedown defense that have proven most capable. If Van is able to stay on his feet in a five-round title fight with the champion he has a good chance to close out 2025 in fashion.
UFC 323 is currently set to take place on Dec. 6 from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of now, the end-of-year card will also showcase the below matchups:
- Middleweight bout: Marvin Vettori vs. Brunno Ferreira
- Flyweight bout: Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira
- Women’s Flyweight bout: Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva
- Middleweight bout: Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Antonio Trocoli
Stick with Mania for more UFC 323 fight card news.
