It became harder than ever to deny Joshua Van’s status as the top flyweight in the world on Saturday night.
Van put together an impressive five-round performance against former UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja on Saturday night, walking away with a unanimous decision victory following 25 minutes.
The win means that he now has a solid, hard to deny win over a name who he previously bested due to a freak injury, solidifying his status as the top name in his division
Defending his 125-pound belt for the second time this year, Van emerged victorious in the main event of UFC 331 from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
It was the hands of Van which led him to the decision victory on Saturday night. Sharp boxing, often connecting with clean combinations on the backfoot, allowed him to outwork respected veteran Pantoja.
A tough Pantoja was able to resist hitting the canvas due to shots up until the closing minutes of the bout, when a right hand from the Burmese-American put him on the mat. Van attempted to finish the fight with a kimura following the knockdown, but Pantoja was able to escape the hold.
Although Van was able to shut down an overwhelming majority of the takedown attempts that came his way, the few which Pantoja secured allowed him to lock down numerous minutes of control time.
These takedowns meant that Pantoja was able to control a notable portion of the first and fourth rounds. However, competing under a judging criteria which significantly values damage over control, these moments still weren’t enough to sway those who carried the official scorecards.
Pantoja’s abilities on the feet are not to be overlooked in the performance either. While a step behind Van in most exchanges, Pantoja nearly kept up with the champ output-wise. Despite somewhat wide margins on scorecards, it was a competitive fight until the very end.
Saturday’s result provides Van with closure following an unsatisfying first meeting with Pantoja in 2025.
A shoulder injury caused Pantoja’s multi-year reign to come to an end in just 26 seconds last December, giving Van world champ status at just 24 years of age. The Texas-based talent, who had only signed with the UFC a little over two years prior, pulled off a victory which many dubbed a fluke.
“A lot of people would say that was an accidental win the first time,” Van said in his post-fight interview. “Doubt me now.”
After capturing gold, it didn’t take long for Van to prove that his abilities are championship calibre. He returned earlier this year to pull off a five-round beating against highly-touted Japanese contender Tatsuro Taira, becoming the first man to finish the fast-rising fighter with strikes.
Pantoja’s loss on Saturday might’ve marked the end of an era. Prior to this weekend, Pantoja hadn’t suffered back-to-back losses in his entire professional career. Before crossing paths with Van, Pantoja’s last defeat dated back over half a decade ago, when he dropped a three-round decision to Askar Askarov.
Pantoja’s reign of dominance in the early 2020s saw him clear out the flyweight division, capturing a world title by 2023 with a split decision win over Brandon Moreno before defending the title against four seperate opponents.
At 36, a challenging age to thrive a division which prioritizes speed and agility, Pantoja now finds himself as an outsider looking into the title picture for the first time in a long time.
