UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2 results, analysis

UFC 331 took place Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. In the main event, Joshua Van defeated Alexandre Pantoja to retain the flyweight title. theScore's Nick Baldwin provided live results and analysis throughout the card.

📌 Jump to: Tsarukyan's KO | Pitbull's KO | Steveson's KO loss | Menifield's SD | Prelims | Early prelims

Van defends the title 🚨

Joshua Van defeated Alexandre Pantoja in their highly anticipated rematch, winning via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 50-45) to retain the flyweight championship.

Van dethroned Pantoja with an injury TKO at UFC 323 last December but cemented himself as the best 125-pound fighter in the world with a clear-cut victory Saturday.

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Tsarukyan KOs Ruffy

Arman Tsarukyan stamped his case for the next lightweight title shot, crushing Mauricio Ruffy with a pair of elbows late in the first round of the co-main event.

Tsarukyan, the No. 2-ranked contender at 155 pounds, picked up his first knockout victory since 2023.

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Pitbull turns back the clock

Former Bellator two-division champion Patricio "Pitbull" Freire scored the most impressive win of his UFC career to date, knocking out Dooho Choi at the 3:28 mark of the first round.

Freire hurt Choi on the feet several times before putting him down for good with a right hand.

Freire bounced back from a unanimous decision loss to Aaron Pico at UFC 327 in April and improved to 2-2 in the Octagon. The 39-year-old Brazilian made his debut in April 2025 after a legendary run in Bellator in which he captured the featherweight and lightweight titles.

Choi suffered his first loss since December 2019, ending his four-fight unbeaten streak.

Sharaf shocks Steveson

Sean Sharaf pulled off a colossal upset, knocking out Gable Steveson 12 seconds into their heavyweight bout.

Sharaf clocked Steveson with a left hand to earn the third-fastest finish in UFC heavyweight history.

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Menifield edges out Baraniewski

Alonzo Menifield dug deep to secure a split-decision win over light heavyweight prospect Iwo Baraniewski in the main-card opener. The judges scored the fight 28-29, 29-28, and 29-28.

Menifield suffered a thumb injury in the first round but rallied to win the gritty fight. He and Baraniewski traded heavy punches in the first two rounds. They spent much of the third round in a stalemate up against the fence, before Menifield separated and landed a handful of shots to seal the deal on the judges' scorecards.

Menifield is now riding a two-fight winning streak and is 4-1 in his last five outings.

Baraniewski suffered the first loss of his career, falling to 3-1 in the UFC and 9-1 as a professional. He also made it past the first round in a fight for the first time ever.

Vera snaps skid with vicious TKO

Marlon "Chito" Vera is back.

The former bantamweight title challenger snapped a four-fight losing streak with a third-round TKO win over Charles Jourdain. The finish came at the 2:03 mark of the round.

Vera scored three knockdowns en route to the much-needed victory. He closed the show with a big left hand, prompting Jourdain to wave off the fight himself.

Vera earned his first victory since a unanimous decision over Pedro Munhoz in August 2023 and his first finish since a head-kick knockout of Dominick Cruz in August 2022.

He was coming off losses to Sean O'Malley, Deiveson Figueiredo, Aiemann Zahabi, and David Martinez before putting on a vintage performance against Jourdain.

Jourdain, meanwhile, suffered his first loss since dropping down to the 135-pound division. The defeat snapped the Canadian's three-fight winning streak.

Tuivasa loses 8th in a row

Tai Tuivasa dropped a split decision to the returning Robelis Despaigne, suffering his eighth straight loss in the Octagon. The judges scored the fight 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28.

Tuivasa is now tied with former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson for the longest losing streak in UFC history.

The first round between Despaigne and Tuivasa was wild and competitive, with the two heavyweights trading hard punches. Despaigne then got on top of Tuivasa in the second and third rounds, relying on his ground control to edge out his opponent on the scorecards.

Despaigne re-signed with the UFC following a knockout win over Junior dos Santos on the MVP MMA 1 card on Netflix in May. The 38-year-old Cuban went 1-2 in his first stint with the promotion in 2024 before being released.

Tuivasa, a 33-year-old from Australia, remains winless since a knockout win over Derrick Lewis in 2022.

Aswell beats Yoo

Michael Aswell Jr. pulled off the upset against JooSang Yoo, defeating him via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) in a featherweight bout.

It was a competitive fight, but Aswell stayed busier and did more damage on the feet to secure the biggest win of his career.

The 25-year-old Texas native snapped a two-fight skid and lifted his Octagon record to 2-3.

Yoo, a 32-year-old from South Korea, fell to 1-2 in the promotion after suffering his second straight loss.

Gandra overwhelms Diaz

Up-and-coming middleweight Ryan Gandra bulldozed his way past Ozzy Diaz, scoring a knockout victory at the 2:04 mark of the first round.

After a brief feeling-out process, Gandra put his foot on the gas and overwhelmed Diaz with a barrage of punches against the fence.

Gandra, a 31-year-old Brazilian, is off to a hot start to his UFC career, scoring three straight first-round finishes since his debut in February. After Saturday's win, he called out former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

Diaz is now riding a two-fight skid and fell to 1-3 in the promotion.

Shahbazyan cruises past Ferreira

Edmen Shahbazyan earned a unanimous decision victory against Brunno Ferreira in a middleweight bout. The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27.

Shahbazyan picked apart Ferreira throughout the fight and nearly scored a knockout finish in the waning seconds.

With the win, Shahbazyan rebounded from a decision loss to Brendan Allen in June. The 28-year-old is now 4-1 in his last five Octagon appearances.

Ferreira, 33, is riding a three-fight skid after losing to Ikram Aliskerov and Gregory Rodrigues earlier this year.

Submission of the year?

Casey O'Neill pulled off one of the best submissions of 2026 against Eduarda Moura.

O'Neill fended off an anaconda choke and transitioned into a submission of her own moments later, tapping out Moura with an armbar at the 3:52 mark of the first round.

O'Neill, ranked No. 12 in the women's flyweight division, is now riding a three-fight winning streak. The 28-year-old hasn't dropped a fight since December 2023.

Moura suffered her second straight loss, falling to 3-3 in the Octagon.

Brito gets the card started with a bang

In an electric start to UFC 331, Joanderson Brito scored a brutal knockout finish against Giga Chikadze in a featherweight bout. Brito got on top of Chikadze and hammered away with ground-and-pound until the referee intervened at the 1:57 mark of the first round.

Brito, a 31-year-old Brazilian, is now riding a three-fight winning streak and has scored back-to-back finishes in the first round.

Chikadze, once a promising 145-pound contender, has dropped four in a row, including two via knockout. The 38-year-old Georgian hasn't won since 2023.

Prefight notes

Van and Pantoja are finally running it back after their first fight ended in disappointing fashion at UFC 323 last December. Pantoja suffered an injury just 26 seconds into the fight, rendering Van the new champion.

Van has defended the title once already, scoring a fifth-round TKO win over Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328 in May. But he needs to legitimately beat Pantoja to cement himself as the best flyweight in the world.

Pantoja is looking to reclaim the throne after his first title reign spanned two-and-a-half years. The 36-year-old Brazilian successfully defended the belt four times - against Kai Kara-France, Kai Asakura, Steve Erceg, and Brandon Royval - before the flukey loss to Van.

In the UFC 331 co-main event, Arman Tsarukyan takes on Mauricio Ruffy in a five-round lightweight bout that could determine the next title challenger.

Previewing UFC 331

• 3 biggest storylines ahead of UFC 331
• UFC 331 predictions: Will Pantoja even series vs. Van?

👉 Bet on UFC 331 with theScore Bet here

Full UFC 331 fight card

Main card (9 p.m. ET on Paramount+)

• Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja
• Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy
• Patricio "Pitbull" Freire vs. Dooho Choi
• Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf
• Alonzo Menifield vs. Iwo Baraniewski

Preliminary card (7 p.m. ET on Paramount+)

• Marlon Vera vs. Charles Jourdain
• Tai Tuivasa vs. Robelis Despaigne
• Michael Aswell Jr. vs. JooSang Yoo
• Ryan Gandra vs. Ozzy Diaz

Early preliminary card (5:30 p.m. ET on Paramount+)

• Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Brunno Ferreira
• Casey O'Neill vs. Eduarda Moura
• Giga Chikadze vs. Joanderson Brito

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