Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight king at UFC 331.
Van retained his title with a unanimous decision over the former champion Alexandre Pantoja In the main event of UFC 331 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The judges scored the match 49:46, 49:47 and 50:45 for Van, who respected his Brazilian counterpart after the clash.
Joshua Van defeated Alexandre Pantoja by UFC unanimous decision
Their first fight ended last year in an anticlimactic fashion, with Van winning the title after Pantoja’s hand injury forced the referee to stop early in the first round. The former then defended his title Tatsuro Tairabut during Pantoja’s recovery from injury, the question remained whether he was still the best 125-pounder.
Van silenced the doubters with his performance at UFC 331, dealing significant damage while escaping most of the weight. He even tried to perform his submission, but the former champion managed to get out of it.
“A lot of people say it was the first time an accident won,” Van said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “Now doubt me. Shout out to Pantoja. Nothing but respect for me. He’s a tough guy. He’s hard to stop. I made my statements, but I don’t know how the hell he got out of it. I usually get everyone in the gym with that move, but I don’t know how the hell he got out of it.”
The duo won Fight of the Night honors for their five-round war.
