The octagon returns to Los Angeles for the first time since January 2025 on Saturday with UFC 331 at Crypto.com Arena. The entire card streams on Paramount+.
A highly anticipated flyweight title rematch headlines the card. After Alexandre Pantoja (30-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) saw his historic reign end with a 26-second injury TKO at UFC 323 in December, he will attempt to reclaim gold against standing champion Joshua Van (16-2 MMA, 10-1 UFC), who is eager to prove the initial outcome was no fluke.
The card also features a slew of other notable names that have history on the line – both in a positive and negative manner. For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie's UFC 331 pre-event facts.
Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja
Joshua Van
Van is one of six undisputed UFC flyweight champions.
Van
is the only UFC champion from Myanmar.
Van is the first and only UFC champion born in the 2000s.
Van, 24, became the second-youngest first time champion in UFC history behind Jon Jones (23) with his UFC 323 title win.
Van vs. Pantoja at UFC 323 marked the third time in UFC history that a title fight ended due to an injury stoppage (excluding eye injuries). Patrick Cote's knee injury vs. Anderson Silva and Anderson Silva's leg injury vs. Chris Weidman were other instances.
Van's seven-fight UFC winning streak at flyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Van's four knockout victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Manel Kape (six) and Joseph Benavidez (five).
Van lands 8.43 significant strikes per minute in UFC competition, the second-highest rate in company history behind Carli Judice (8.7) and highest in flyweight history.
Van lands 57.4 of his significant strike attempts in UFC flyweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.
Van and Brandon Royval combined for 419 significant strikes landed at UFC 317, the all-time record for most in a three-fight UFC fight.
Van and Royval combined for 419 significant strikes landed, the most in UFC flyweight history and third-most all-time a single UFC fight.
Van landed 215 significant strikes landed and Royval landed 204 significant strikes landed, marking the first time in UFC history where two fighters have had 200 significant strikes more in a single fight.
Alexandre Pantoja
Pantoja is one of six undisputed UFC flyweight champions.
Pantoja is one of five fighters in UFC history to force a title change by split decision when he won at UFC 290. Sean Strickland, Robbie Lawler, Henry Cejudo and Carla Esparza also accomplished the feat.
Pantoja is the only fighter in UFC history to lose a championship belt as a result of an injury stoppage.
Pantoja's five victories in UFC flyweight championship fights are second-most in divisional history behind Demetrious Johnson (12).
Pantoja's 14 victories in UFC flyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Pantoja's eight-fight UFC winning streak at flyweight, ended at UFC 323, is the second-longest streak in divisional history behind Johnson (13).
Pantoja's eight stoppage victories in UFC flyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Pantoja's six submission victories in UFC flyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Pantoja's six fight-night bonus for UFC flyweight bouts are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Johnson (nine), Royval (seven) and Brandon Moreno (seven)
Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy
Arman Tsarukyan's (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at lightweight is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Quillan Salkilld (six).
Tsarukyan is 10-1 in his past 11 UFC appearances, dating back to his April 2019 loss to Makhachev.
Mauricio Ruffy (14-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has earned 13 of his 14 career victories by stoppage. He's finished nine of those wins in Round 1.
**Ruffy has earned one of 16 knockouts in UFC history stemming from a spinning wheel kick. He accomplished the feat at UFC 313.
Patricio Freire vs. Dooho Choi
Patricio Freire (37-9 MMA, 1-2 UFC) is 1-2 in the UFC after a decorated career with Bellator where he was a two-division and multi-time champion.
is one of three fighters in Bellator history to have three separate title reigns in a single weight class. Michael Chandler and Douglas Lima also accomplished the feat.
Freire, a former lightweight champion, is the only fighter in Bellator history with four separate championship reigns.
Freire is one of two simultaneous two-division champions in Bellator history. Ryan Bader also accomplished the feat.
Freire is one of three fighters in Bellator history to win titles in two weight classes. Bader and Joe Warren also accomplished the feat.
Freire had the most fights (30), victories (24) and stoppage victories (15) in the history of the now-defunct Bellator organization.
Freire competed in the most title fights (18) and earned the most title fight victories (15) in Bellator history.
Dooho Choi (17-4-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) has earned 14 of his 16 career victories by stoppage. He's finished 13 of those wins by knockout.
Choi's six knockout victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Max Holloway (nine) and Cub Swanson (eight).
Choi's 18-second knockout of Juan Puig at UFC Fight Night 57 stands as the second-fastest debut in UFC featherweight history behind Makwan Amirkhani's eight-second win at UFC on FOX 14.
Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega
Renato Moicano (21-7-1 MMA, 13-7 UFC) is 8-3 since he moved up to the UFC lightweight division in March 2020.
Moicano's seven submission victories by rear-naked choke in UFC competition are tied for third-most in company history behind Demian Maia (nine) and Michael Chiesa (eight).
Brian Ortega (16-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) moves up to the lightweight division after spending his previous promotional tenure at featherweight.
Ortega's seven stoppage victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Holloway (11) and Swanson (eight).
Ortega's four submission victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Charles Oliveira (six).
Ortega is the only fighter in UFC history to earn four consecutive third-round stoppage victories.
Alonzo Menifield vs. Iwo Baraniewski
Alonzo Menifield (18-6-1 MMA, 11-6-1 UFC) has recorded one of eight Von Flue submission finishes in UFC history. He accomplished the feat at UFC 260.
Iwo Baraniewski (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has earned all nine of his career victories by first-round stoppage.
Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf
Gable Steveson (4-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is one of five Olympic gold medalist to fight in the UFC, along with Kayla Harrison, Henry Cejudo, Kevin Jackson and Mark Schultz. He earned gold in freestyle wrestling at the 2020 summer Olympics.
Marlon Vera vs. Charles Jourdain
Marlon Vera (22-11-1 MMA, 16-10 UFC) competes in his 24th UFC bantamweight bout, the most appearances in divisional history.
Vera's four-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn't earned a victory since August 2023.
Vera's total fight time of 5:09:51 in UFC bantamweight competition is the most in divisional history.
Vera's 13 victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied with Merab Dvalishvili and T.J. Dillashaw for second-most in divisional history behind Aljamain Sterling (14).
Vera's 10 stoppage victories in UFC bantamweight competition are most in divisional history.
Vera's six knockout victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Dillashaw (seven) and Sean O'Malley (seven).
Vera's two knockout victories stemming from head kicks in UFC bantamweight competition are tied with Dillashaw for most in divisional history.
Vera's 11 knockdowns landed in UFC bantamweight competition are second-most in divisional history behind Montel Jackson (12).
Vera is one of two fighters in UFC history to score three knockdowns in back-to-back fights. Conor McGregor also accomplished the feat.
Vera is one of six fighters in UFC history to have two performances with three or more knockdowns landed. McGregor, Donald Cerrone, Anderson Silva, John Lineker and Israel Adesanya also accomplished the feat.
Vera is one of 11 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a front kick. He accomplished the feat at UFC 268. There have been 12 such finishes overall, with Lyoto Machida being the only fighter to win twice with the technique.
Vera's -112 significant strike differential (159 vs. 271) at UFC on ESPN 35 is the largest negative differential for any winner in UFC history.
Vera's four submission victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Urijah Faber (six) and Rani Yahya (six).
Charles Jourdain (18-8-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC) is 3-0 since he dropped to the UFC bantamweight division in October 2024.
Jourdain has received a post-fight bonus for all three of his UFC bantamweight appearance.
Tai Tuivasa vs. Robelis Despaigne
Tai Tuivasa's (14-10 MMA, 8-10 UFC) seven-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn't earned a victory since February 2022.
Tuivasa's seven-fight UFC losing skid is tied with B.J. Penn for second-longest in company history behind Tony Ferguson (eight).
Tuivasa is 5-10 in his past 15 fights after starting his career 10-0.
Tuivasa is one of two heavyweights in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a flying knee. Fabricio Werdum also accomplished the feat.
Tuivasa is one of four heavyweights in UFC history to earn knockouts stemming from a knee and an elbow strike. Alistair Overeem, Cheick Kongo and Walt Harris also accomplished the feat.
Robelis Despaigne (6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) returns to the UFC for the first time since October 2024. He went 1-0 in MMA between stints with the organization.
Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Brunno Ferreira
**Brunno Ferreira (15-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) is one of 10 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning back elbow. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN 57.
Casey O'Neill vs. Eduarda Moura
Casey O'Neill's (11-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) four stoppage victories in UFC women's flyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Gillian Robertson (seven) and Valentina Shevchenko (five).
O'Neill's three knockout victories in UFC women's flyweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Shevchenko (four).
O'Neill lands 7.89 significant strikes per minute in UFC women's flyweight competition, the third-highest rate in divisional history behind Judice (8.7) and Wang Cong (8.0).
Giga Chikadze vs. Joanderson Brito
Giga Chikadze's (15-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn't earned a victory since August 2023.
Joanderson Brito (19-5-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) completes 66.7 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the second-best rate in divisional history behind Diego Brandao (68 percent).
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 331 pre-event facts: Tai Tuivasa on cusp of Tony Ferguson losing skid record
