Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja, UFC 331 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Gabriel Gonzalez/Cageside Press
Questions remained following the first meeting between Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja last year, and for good reason. Pantoja had gone down early due to an arm injury; Van might have left with the title, but business between the flyweight pair was far from over.
With Pantoja healed up, the sequel arrived at UFC 331 on Saturday, topping a card full of action (Arman Tsarukyan, Patricio Pitbull, and Chito Vera all having big nights) and upsets (Gable Steveson shockingly knocked out by the unheralded Sean Sharaf).
After an intense staredown during the pre-fight instructions, Van moved to touch gloves – with Pantoja declining. And with that they were out, Pantoja closing the distance immediately, punching his way in and landing a takedown. Just 15 seconds in and Pantoja was on top, working from inside guard while Van slapped the back and worked to the fence. When Van tried to sit up, Pantoja was able to pull Van’s legs out from under him and move to mount. A simple, effective move, and again, Van simply opted to land slaps off his back.
When Van finally exploded up, Pantoja briefly took the back, only for Van to reverse, and get the fight down again. This time, it was Josh Van on top, firing a few shots to the body. Pantoja used an arm-bar setup to escape, however, and a firefight ensued! Pantoja in knees, and fought like a man possessed. Or more accurately, a man looking to reclaim the title taken from him. Van, meanwhile, began working his jab and walking forward. Pantoja found success with more knees, Van with an elbow, and “The Cannibal” finished the frame with his second takedown.
Alexandre Pantoja came out hot again to start round two, spamming knee after knee. The action was then stopped, with Pantoja complaining of a headbutt, though it appeared to be an accidental foul. Ref Herb Dean ruled that, as Pantoja had been cut by the foul, the cutman could work on him, but the ex-champ wanted to fight on instead. Van fought off a takedown following the restart, before they moved back to center. There, it was back to trading, fast and furious. Pantoja added in a whip-like leg kick, and Van responded with one of his own, while both exchanged jabs. Van stuffed a takedown off a level change, and fought off the follow-up as well.
Then came Van’s best moment of the round, hurting Pantoja in an exchange. Pantoja wound up pulling Van down on top of him, but Van wisely backed off. The champ started ripping the body, lefts and rights landing. In the final 30 or so seconds, Pantoja landed a takedown, and took the back, only to run out of time before he could make anything happen.
Between rounds, Pantoja’s corner warned him that he could not keep up the pace. Instead of the all-out brawl, they asked for their fighter to circle and attack. With action underway, Pantoja landed repeated knees to the body, after Van hit the midsection with lefts and rights. Van’s takedown defense was the star early on in round three, as he defended multiple attempts by Pantoja to get the fight to the mat. Both men later landed elbows in the clinch, and Van again showed off his takedown defense before getting his own bodylock for a moment. Pantoja would finally land a takedown with just over a minute on the clock in round three, but couldn’t capitalize, and found himself under fire when they returned to the feet. Standing and trading until the horn, it was off to the championship rounds.
Round four saw Pantoja fire a kick low, then fire one high, nearly catching Van with what might have been a fight-ender. A stand-up battle ensued, with Pantoja walking forward into a takedown. There was lots of time to work for the challenger, and Pantoja would eventually get to side control briefly. Still, the Brazilian couldn’t make much happen, as Van was just active enough off his back to avoid getting caught in a submission.
A Van right hand clipped Pantoja early in round five. The fight was potentially tied coming into the final five minutes, still very much up in the air. Pantoja circled on the outside while Van pressed; the champ eventually let a combination go, forcing Pantoja to cover up. Van connected several more times at the midway mark of the round, with Van in the driver’s seat through the first half. And with just under two minutes left, Van dropped the ex-champ! Van got on top, briefly working a kimura before letting Pantoja back up.
The Brazilian was still hurt and shot a wild takedown. He couldn’t get it, and was wobbly on his feet. Another takedown attempt followed, and Pantoja pulled guard when he didn’t land it. Less than a minute was on the clock, and the momentum had shifted fully in favour of Joshua Van. They got back up with 30 seconds to go, where Van tagged Pantoja several more times, with Pantoja landing a few in response. A huge finish to the 25-minute fight, one of the most memorable flyweight title fights in years.
Critics silenced for Joshua Van, who put on an incredible performance and really shone in the final frame. “He’s hard to finish,” Van admitted following the bout.
Official Result: Joshua Van def. Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-47, 50-45)