Joshua Van had a second opportunity to prove he was better than Alexandre Pantoja, and did exactly that.
The first meeting ended inconclusively due to injury, but the rematch went the full 25 minutes. Van (18-2 MMA, 11-1 UFC) prevailed again against Pantoja (30-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC), winning a unanimous decision with scores of 49-46, 49-47, and 50-45. The flyweight title fight served as the main event of UFC 331 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
From the start, Pantoja was all business. He offered no glove touch, and when the fight began, he got right to it.
Pantoja refused to touch gloves 😳
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Pantoja came out of the gates swinging and scored a takedown in the first 10 seconds of the fight. After
some top control, Van reversed position. A moment later, they were on the feet, throwing bombs at a high clip to get the crowd hyped up. Van pressed forward behind a sharp left jab, tagging Pantoja repeatedly. Pantoja scored a late takedown, but Van fought his way back up and landed a few more punches before the horn.
They got right back into the fire to start the second round, but in the heat of an exchange, heads clashed. Pantoja was livid because he was cut open and accused Van of using his head on purpose. The cageside doctor was brought in to assess the damage before the fight resumed.
Pantoja immediately resumed hunting for a takedown, but couldn't get it. Back in the center, back-and-forth striking exchanges resumed. Van ended up on top after a heated moment, but opted to stand back up so he could continue to press forward on the feet. Pantoja scored a late takedown and found his way to Van's back, but the horn sounded before a submission could be locked in.
Both fighters sported damage on their faces at the start of Round 3. Van continued to apply forward pressure as the striking exchanges unfolded. Van made a solid adjustment to stop takedown attempts, forcing the fight to play out on the feet – but Pantoja met that challenge well. He eventually got Van to the canvas, but couldn't do much with it. Once Van got back to his feet, he unloaded powerful combinations to close out the round.
Pantoja came out with a sick combination ending in a head kick to start Round 4. Pantoja scored another takedown, but once again offered very little offense on the mat aside from ground control time. In fact, Van was busier with slaps from his back and attacked a heel hook.
Strikes were traded immediately to begin the final round. Van's punching combinations scored well, briefly rocking Pantoja midway through. With just under two minutes to go, Van dropped Pantoja and then quickly locked in a kimura attempt. It wasn't there, but Van continued to light up Pantoja on the feet until the final horn.
VAN ROCKS PANTOJA IN THE 5TH!!
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"A lot of people said that was an accident win the first time. Doubt me now," Van said during his post-fight interview.
Van secured his second flyweight title defense in his second victory over Pantoja. The pair first met at UFC 323 in December, when Pantoja suffered an arm injury just 26 seconds in. Van made good on his promise to prove he could defeat the former champion, who was clearly focused on reclaiming the title.
"Doubt me now." - @JoshuaVanBT
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Up-to-the-minute UFC 331 results:
- Joshua Van def. Alexandre Pantoja via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-47, 50-45)
- Arman Tsarukyan def. Mauricio Ruffy via knockout (elbow) – Round 1, 4:56
- Patricio Freire def. Dooho Choi via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:28
- Sean Sharaf def. Gable Steveson via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:12
- Alonzo Menifield def. Iwo Baraniewski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Marlon Vera def. Charles Jourdain via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:02
- Robelis Despaigne def. Tai Tuivasa via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Michael Aswell def. JooSang Yoo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ryan Gandra def. Ozzy Diaz via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:04
- Edmen Shahbazyan def. Brunno Ferreira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Casey O'Neill def. Eduarda Moura via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:22
- Joanderson Brito def. Giga Chikadze via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:57
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 331 results: Joshua Van erases doubt in title rematch vs. Alexandre Pantoja
