LOS ANGELES – Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja are bringing much more feistiness the second time around.
Things have soured since their first meeting and a rivalry has been built, as was exemplified from their faceoff that followed the UFC 331 pre-fight news conference Thursday at Crypto.com Arena (Paramount+).
Van (17-2 MMA, 10-1 UFC) defeated Pantoja (30-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) the first time around, but it came in controversial fashion. Pantoja injured his arm planting it on the canvas after Van caught one of his kicks. Pantoja has not competed since, but Van successfully defended the title against Tatsuro Taira in May.
When the two fighters partook in an tickets-on-sale news conference in August, the trash talk from Van begun, as did the anger from Pantoja.
Thursday's promotional event was no different.
Joshua Van exchanges words, then poses in front of Alexandre Pantoja at the #UFC331 press conference 👀 pic.twitter.com/shFE7w9iao
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 18, 2026
Check out the UFC 331 news conference faceoff between Van and Pantoja above.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 331 press conference faceoff: Joshua Van leans in to smack-talk Alexandre Pantoja
