“Doubt me now.” – @JoshuaVanBT
📺 @paramountplus🗣️
pic.twitter.com/UHjNEmeMG0— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
20 September 2026
After taking pictures
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion last December in suspicious fashion due to a freak injury, Joshua Van
was determined to prove to everyone that he was indeed the undisputed king. Saturday night in the main event UFC 331 At the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Van did just that. Van (18-2) picked apart the foe and former champion Alexandre Pantoja for five rounds, pushing him up with crisp combos to the head, relentless pressure and excellent takedown and submission defense. The “Fearless” champion had Pantoja, bleeding from multiple facial wounds, nearly knocking him out with an armbar right hook, and then “The Cannibal” almost delivered a late side-control kimura but couldn’t do it.
Pantoja (30-7) poured his heart into the battle and never stopped trying, but the Brazilian came up just short in his quest to regain the world title. Running on fumes, Pantoja threw caution to the wind, and though he ate punch after punch, he hung on until the final horn, ending a terrific main event.
Van’s relentless pressure helped him win a unanimous decision with scores of 49-46, 49-47 and 50-45 in his second successful title defense.
Arman Tsarukyan has been trying to win the UFC lightweight championship, and after his co-main event, he argued that his claim is arguably the most deserving at 155 pounds. Tsarukyan struck against the rising contender Mauricio Ruffy and was rocked by a sizzling right cross early in the contest, but the Armenian rallied and spent most of the rest of the round beating down the Brazilian. Luffy (14-3) thwarted all takedown attempts, but just as the first round was about to end, “Ahalkalakets” landed a left elbow on Ruffy’s jaw that knocked him out. But before Luffy collapsed in a heap, Tsarukyan
landed a right elbow to the head and Luffy was frozen for several moments. The end officially came at 4:56, allowing Tsarukyan to go 24-3 and likely next in line for the title.
Former two-time Bellator champion and longtime veteran Patrick Freire showed that “Pitbull” still has plenty of bite by knocking out an up-and-coming contender Doo Ho Choi
in the first round. Freire (38-9) cracked “The Korean Superboy” early and often, peppering him with kicks to the head and body, preventing Choi from finding a rhythm. Freire froze Choi with a powerful right to the jaw,
then he floored him with a left uppercut. The Brazilian followed Choi (17-5-1) down and unleashed punches and elbows until referee Mike Beltran stopped it. The end came at 3:20 of the frame.
It was supposed to be a heavyweight showcase for 2020 Olympic gold medalist and former NCAA All-American Gable Stevenson, who finished as a -2,400 betting favorite. It only took 12 seconds
Old Sharaf to
destroy him with a perfect left hook to the jaw. The highly decorated wrestler left his head hanging in the air and “Smoke” blew him away, knocking Stevenson out cold and handing him his first professional loss. US Marine Sharaf improved to 5-2.
Heavyweight Contender “Atomic” Alonzo Menifield from an early impact storm Iwo Baraniewski and hung on to win the split decision. Menifield (19-6-1) was rocked a few times in the first round and suffered a horrendous injury to his right thumb, but he gathered momentum and determination, carried “Rudy” and stole the final two rounds. Baraniewski (9-1) ran out of gas on the run and while he won 29-28 on one judge’s card, the other two judges scored it 29-28 in Menifield’s favor.
UFC 331 preliminary results:
A longtime weight competitor Marlon Vera
turned back the clock with one of his best performances of late, stopping Charles Jourdain (18-9-1) in the third. “Chito” looked like a young lion in a cage as he pounded “Air” Jourdain with dozens of clean, hard shots to the head and body followed by leg kicks. Vera (24-12-1) dropped her foe multiple times by breaking, but when
sizzling directly into the left eye sent Jourdain stumbling back and into his bucket seat, the Canadian signaled to referee Mike Beltran that he’d had enough and bowed out at 2:02 of the round, ending a strong preliminary card.
What began as a wild heavyweight slugfest, Robelis Despaigne an enduring fan favorite The Pacific Ocean
for a split decision win over three grueling rounds. Two blank shots for most of the opening frame, but with their gas tanks running low, timely takedowns and octagon control allowed Despaigne (7-2) to pull away with a 29-28 (twice) and 28-29 verdict. Tuivasa fell 15-11.
Michael Aswell Jr. (12-5) earned a split decision over his South Korean counterpart Yoo Sang Yoo in the tactical featherweight division. “The Texas Kid” used a well-timed jab to keep Yoo (9-2) at bay, but “Zombie Jr.” scored a takedown in the third game and crushed his foe with a pair of hard shots to keep it close. While one cage judge saw Yoo as 29-28, the other two officials favored Aswell Jr. 29:28.
Ryan Gandra
picked up his fifth straight win and improved to 11-1 overall in hitting Osman Diaz
in the opening round of their middleweight affair. “Problema” exploded with a furious flurry of strikes, forcing Diaz (10-5) into the cage and
sent him spiraling to the canvas. Judge Jonathan Romero had no choice but to stop the robbery, ending the fight at 2:04 of the 1st round.
Middleweight contender Edmen Shahbazyan did just enough in each of the three rounds to triumph Bruno Ferreirawon by unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards 29-28 (twice) and 30-27. Shahbazyan (17-6) hit better and was just busier. Ferreira fell with a score of 15:5.
Australia’s Casey O’Neill escaped a deep arm triangle choke early in his flyweight fight Eduardo Moura and received one of the most impressive submissions of the year. With Moura (12-3) on top, “The King” made a textbook sweep and rolled the Brazilian
for a perfect belly-down gripforcing the tap. The end of the first came at 3:22, allowing O’Neill to go up 12-2.
The match, which started with a fistful of fireworks, was as fast as Brazil’s Joanderson Brito clumped Old Giga in the opening frame. After Chikadze (15-7) spammed one too many headbutts, “Ninja” slipped and fell, and that’s when Brito capitalized. Brito (20-5)
unloaded a barrage of fists and hammerfists inside Georgian’s guard, which eventually knocks him out cold. The featherweight tilt ended at 1:57 of the first round.
