What happened in this Sports story?

Former UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja headlines Saturday's UFC 331 rematch against Joshua Van in Los Angeles, six months after a freak dislocated elbow 26 seconds into their first bout cost him the title.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Alexandre Pantoja** lost the 125-pound title to Joshua Van at UFC 323 last December via a freak dislocated elbow 26 seconds into the fight when Van caught a high kick and pushed him to the ground, ending a reign that included four title defenses

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Pantoja** was back in the gym two days after the injury with one arm in a sling, telling CBS Sports he hasn't stopped training since and that his "right hand is very powerful now"

Pantoja out for revenge vs Van in UFC 331 rematch — SkimNews

By CBS Sports · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-09-16

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Alexandre Pantoja lost the 125-pound title to Joshua Van at UFC 323 last December via a freak dislocated elbow 26 seconds into the fight when Van caught a high kick and pushed him to the ground, ending a reign that included four title defenses
Pantoja was back in the gym two days after the injury with one arm in a sling, telling CBS Sports he hasn't stopped training since and that his "right hand is very powerful now"
Despite an 8-fight win streak that carried him to No. 4 in the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings, Pantoja was dropped from those rankings after the December loss and now enters the rematch as the betting underdog after being a roughly 3-to-1 favorite in the first fight
Joshua Van (17-2), a 24-year-old from Myanmar fighting out of Houston, has won seven straight since a 2024 knockout loss to Charles Johnson, including a 2025 Fight of the Year against Brandon Royval and a fifth-round TKO title defense over Tatsuro Taira in May
Pantoja argues Van "didn't beat me" and frames himself as the challenger entering Saturday's fight, saying he "has nothing to lose" and wants the rematch "more than ever"
Pantoja cites wins over Manel Kape, Brandon Royval, Brandon Moreno, Kai Kara-France and Kai Asakura as evidence he was the first men's flyweight in UFC history to win a title bout after turning 35

Why it matters: Pantoja enters the rematch a 36-year-old underdog after a freak-injury loss, meaning Saturday's outcome directly decides whether his four-defense championship run is remembered as an era or a footnote — a win vaults him back into the P4P picture and stalls Van's rapid ascent, while a loss lets the sport fully move on from him.