No Fluke This Time: Joshua Van Needs All 25 Minutes to Beat Pantoja Again

The first time Joshua Van beat Alexandre Pantoja, it took 26 seconds and a dislocated elbow. A lot of people didn't count it. On Saturday in Los Angeles, Van gave them five rounds to watch and a unanimous decision to go with it: 50-45, 49-46 and 49-47.

A lot of people said it was an accident win the first time. Doubt me now.

Van is 24, born in Myanmar, and now 18-2 with two title defenses this year after knocking out Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328 in May.

How he won it

Pantoja, 36, did what he always does and kept walking forward. He shot for takedowns 18 times and got five of them, per UFC Stats. Van landed 259 strikes to Pantoja's 152, scrambled out of the bad positions on the mat, and even tried a leg lock on one of the best grapplers in the division.

Alexandre Pantoja, who defended the belt four times before losing it to Van, in 2023.

It was closer than the 50-45 card suggests heading into the fifth. Van settled it there, working at range and dropping Pantoja with a right hand halfway through the round. Pantoja is now 30-7.

A big night for the arena, too

Dana White said UFC 331 drew 19,357 people and $8.3 million at the gate, a Crypto.com Arena record that beat a Bad Bunny concert from 2024. White called Van the best thing to happen to the flyweight division.

The obvious next opponent is Manel Kape of Angola, who is 23-7 and has knocked out his last four.