The UFC's return to Los Angeles proved to be a memorable one with UFC 331 on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena stacking up among the best of 2026.
Joshua Van (17-2 MMA, 11-1 UFC) showed glimpses of a future all-time great in the main event when he delivered another Fight of the Year caliber contest, this time in defending the flyweight belt against Alexandre Pantoja (30-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) by unanimous decision to put questions around his December title win to rest.
For more on the numbers behind a historic card, check below for MMA Junkie's UFC 331 post-event facts.
Event stats
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $270,500.
Van, Pantoja, Arman Tsarukyan and Casey O'Neill earned $100,000 UFC 331 fight-night bonuses. Four fighters earned $25,000
finish bonuses.
Sean Sharaf earned a $100,000 bonus – $50,000 from UFC and $50,000 for the "Chaos Bonus."
UFC 331 drew an announced attendance of 19,357 for a live gate of $8,300,000.
Betting favorites went 7-5 on the card.
Betting favorites improved to 18-1 in UFC headliners this year. Three main events in 2026 have had even odds.
Total fight time for the 12-bout card was 1:53:11.
Joshua Van def Alexandre Pantoja
Van's eight-fight UFC winning streak at flyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Van has earned seven of his 11 UFC victories by decision.
Pantoja has suffered six of his seven career losses by decision.
Pantoja's seven fight-night bonus for UFC flyweight bouts are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Demetrious Johnson (nine).
Arman Tsarukyan def. Mauricio Ruffy
Tsarukyan's (24-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) six-fight UFC winning streak at lightweight is tied with Quillan Salkilld for the longest active streak in the division.
Tsarukyan improved to 11-1 in his past 12 UFC appearances, dating back to his April 2019 loss to Islam Makhachev.
Mauricio Ruffy (14-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has suffered all three of his career losses by stoppage.
Patricio Freire def. Dooho Choi
Patricio Freire (38-9 MMA, 2-2 UFC) improved to 2-2 in the UFC after a decorated career with Bellator where he was a two-division and multi-time champion.
Dooho Choi (17-5-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) has suffered all three of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Sean Sharaf def. Gable Steveson
Sean Sharaf (5-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has earned all four of his career victories by knockout.
Sharaf's 12-second knockout is tied for the third-fastest finish in UFC heavyweight history. Todd Duffee holds the record with his seven-second win at UFC 102.
Gable Steveson (4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had his four-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
Alonzo Menifield def. Iwo Baraniewski
Alonzo Menifield (19-6-1 MMA, 12-6-1 UFC) Iwo Baraniewski (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) had his nine-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
Marlon Vera def. Charles Jourdain
Marlon Vera (22-12-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) snapped his four-fight losing skid for his first victory since August 2023.
Vera's 14 victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied with Aljamain Sterling for most in divisional history.
Vera's 11 stoppage victories in UFC bantamweight competition are most in divisional history.
Vera's seven knockout victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied with T.J. Dillashaw (seven) and Sean O'Malley (seven) for most in divisional history.
Vera's 14 knockdowns landed in UFC bantamweight competition are most in divisional history.
Vera became the firs fighter in UFC history to have three performances with three or more knockdowns landed.
Charles Jourdain (18-9-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC) fell to 3-1 since he dropped to the UFC bantamweight division in October 2024.
Robelis Despaigne def. Tai Tuivasa
Robelis Despaigne (7-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) was successful in his return to the UFC for a second stint.
Despaigne earned the first decision victory of his career.
Tai Tuivasa's (14-11 MMA, 8-11 UFC) eight-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn't earned a victory since February 2022.
Tuivasa's eight-fight UFC losing skid is tied with Tony Ferguson for longest in company history.
Tuivasa fell to 5-11 in his past 16 fights after starting his career 10-0.
Michael Aswell Jr. def. JooSang Yoo
Michael Aswell Jr. (12-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career.
JooSang Yoo (9-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 9-0.
Yoo suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Ryan Gandra def. Ozzy Diaz
Ryan Gandra (11-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has earned nine of his 11 career victories by stoppage. He's finished all three of his UFC wins by first-round knockout.
Ozzy Diaz (10-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) has suffered all five of his career losses by knockout.
Edmen Shahbazyan def. Brunno Ferreira
Brunno Ferreira's (15-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn't earned a victory since December 2025.
Casey O'Neill def. Eduarda Moura
O'Neill (12-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has earned five of her seven UFC victories by stoppage.
O'Neill's five stoppage victories in UFC women's flyweight competition are tied with Valentina Shevchenko for second-most in divisional history behind Gillian Robertson (seven).
Eduarda Moura (12-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) suffered the first stoppage loss of her career with a submission defeat.
Giga Chikadze def. Joanderson Brito
Joanderson Brito (20-5-1 MMA, 8-3 UFC) has earned 17 of his 19 career victories by stoppage. That includes seven of his eight UFC wins.
Brito's seven stoppage victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Max Holloway (11) and Cub Swanson (eight).
Giga Chikadze's (15-7 MMA, 8-5 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn't earned a victory since August 2023.
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 post-event facts: 'Chito' Vera sets unique knockdown record
