Van vs. Pantoja 2 headlines UFC 331 in Los Angeles
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- Joshua Van defends the flyweight title against Alexandre Pantoja in the UFC 331 main event at Crypto.com Arena on Sept. 19, a rematch from UFC 323 where Van won by first-round TKO after Pantoja suffered an arm injury 26 seconds into the bout.
- Van (24, native of Myanmar) followed up his December title capture by stopping Tatsuro Taira via fifth-round TKO in May in what the source calls a "fight of the year candidate."
- Arman Tsarukyan meets No. 7-ranked Mauricio Ruffy in a five-round, non-title lightweight co-main, returning to Los Angeles for the first time since withdrawing from his Islam Makhachev title rematch at UFC 311 one day before the event in January 2025 due to a back injury sustained while cutting weight.
- Mauricio Ruffy (30, Brazilian) brings a 5-1 UFC record since his 2024 debut into his first five-round fight, stepping up against the No. 2-ranked Tsarukyan.
- Gable Steveson, the 2020 U.S. Olympic gold medalist heavyweight, faces Sean Sharaf on a 13-bout card that also features a Renato Moicano-Brian Ortega lightweight rematch and Patricio "Pitbull" Cruz vs. Dooho Choi at featherweight.
Why it matters: Van-Pantoja 2 gives Pantoja a legitimate chance to reclaim the belt after losing it on a 26-second arm injury, while Tsarukyan's return to the same city where he pulled out of a title fight on 24 hours' notice adds clear personal stakes. Steveson's heavyweight booking continues his Olympic-to-MMA transition on a card with a rematch and multiple ranked bouts.
