Alexandre Pantoja, UFC 331 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Gabriel Gonzalez/Cageside Press
The UFC ventured to Los Angeles, California for the first time in eight years on Saturday for UFC 331. The fight was headlined by the rematch between flyweight champion, Joshua Van, and the former title holder Alexandre Pantoja— who had lost his belt in under 30 seconds due to injury in his last appearance. In the co-main event, a title eliminator bout, as Arman Tsarukyan took on Mauricio Ruffy, in what ended up being a ferocious lightweight scrap. All but one of the bonuses came on the five fight main card, which also produced three straight finishes. Lots of big names left to pick up the pieces on this edition of Losers matchmaker including an Olympic gold medalist.
Alexandre Pantoja
Joshua Van turned in a near flawless performance in the main event of UFC 331 on Saturday as he defended his title, defeating former champ Alexandre Pantoja via unanimous decision. The fight, despite the judges’ score cards, was pretty close during the early rounds before Alexandre began to tire. This bout also won Fight of the Night honors, and there’s a good chance it’s on the short-list for Fight of the Year. Pantoja now falls to 14-5 within the UFC since his signing in 2017. Before his pair of losses to Van, Pantoja was riding an eight-fight win streak from 2021-2025.
Alexandre’s next fight should be against Asu Almabayev. Pantoja has now lost twice to Van. This fight was definitive. Royval, who is sitting at #3 in the rankings looks attractive, especially as he’s 1-2 in his last three fights. But the pair fought in late 2023, and it’s a bit soon for a rematch. Almabayev is a fresh name that is 7-1 with the UFC since being signed in 2023. He’s been putting in work. His only loss was to Manel Kape in March of 2025 (albeit somewhat controversially). Asu has won three bouts since then, defeating Jose Ochoa and submitting Alex Perez, and most recently, Charles Johnson in June. Asu is a skilled and experienced fighter that would match up well against the former champ. This bout’s winner could easily be a fight or two from a title shot.
Pantoja’s next fight: (#5) Asu Almabayev
Mauricio Ruffy
(#2) Arman Tsarukyan proved that he is indeed ready for a title shot with his masterful first round KO against (#10) Mauricio Ruffy in the co-main event of UFC 331 on Saturday. Devasting outcome for Ruffy who is now 5-2 with the UFC since being signed off the 2023 season of the Contender Series. Ruffy is 2-2 in his last four fights dating back to September of 2025. Ruffy was also stopped by Benoit Saint Denis last September. His best wins are a spinning heel kick KO against King Green and a finish over Rafael Fiziev.
Mauricio’s next fight should be against the loser of Renato Moicanio vs. Tom Nolan. That fight goes down on October 31, so the timing wouldn’t be horrible. Especially considering that Ruffy was unconscious for a while.
Nolan is 5-1 with the UFC since he came off the 2023 season of the Contender Series. Nolan’s only loss with the promotion, and as a pro came in his UFC debut against Nikolas Motta. Tom’s best win was his most recent one, as he defeated Fares Ziam by unanimous decision in June.
Moicanio, who has been with the UFC since 2014, is 13-7 with the promotion. He’s 1-2 in his last three fights but one of those losses includes a short notice title shot against Islam Makhachev and the other is a unanimous decision defeat at the hands on Beneil Dariush. Renato was last in action when he took on Chris Duncan back in April and submitted the lightweight in the second round. Giving Ruffy the loser of this fight makes a lot of sense. Ideally its Nolan, as the pair would have very similar records/UFC careers up until this point. Either way, exciting scrap.
Ruffy’s next fight: (#8) Renato Moicanio vs. (#11) Tom Nolan loser
Doo-Ho Choi
Patricio Pitbull turned back the clock on Saturday as he took less than a round to blow up Doo-Ho Choi with some well-placed punches. Doo-Ho Choi falls to 6-4-1 under the UFC banner since being signed in 2014. Choi hasn’t been the most active fighter thanks to injuries and military service but has delivered some bangers. Choi was riding a 3-fight, 3-finish streak heading into the bout at UFC 331.
Doo-Ho’s next fight should be against William Gomis. William is 5-2 with the UFC since being signed in 2022. He’s gone 2-2 in his last four bouts. Gomis lost a split decision to Hyder Amil in March of last year then a unanimous decision against Pat Sabtini in his last appearance, back in May. Choi is in some explosive fights. Gomis is established, and though he’s cooled off recently is still a very legitimate name that is just a win or two outside of the rankings at 145lbs. Excellent matchup that I could see in the co-main event slot of a Fight Night card.
Choi’s next fight: William Gomis
Gable Steveson
Sean Sharaf took just 12 seconds to KO hype-train Gable Steveson on Saturday. It was a result almost no one was expecting as Gable suffered the first loss of his pro career to a man that was 0-2 with the UFC. Steveson now falls to 4-1 as a pro in MMA since his debut as a professional last September. Gable is 1-1 with the UFC.
Steveson’s next fight should be against the loser of Louie Sutherland vs. Javad Mahjoub. That fight is scheduled for October 17 so the timing wouldn’t be bad as I’m sure the 26-year-old would like to get right back to work, as soon as he’s physically capable. Louie is 1-3 with the UFC, he’s been finished in the first round of all those losses (Valter Walker, Brando Pericic, Jose Montanha). Sutherland’s only victory in the UFC came in May when he beat Tai Tuivasa, a formerly ranked heavyweight.
Javad Mahjoub is 5-0 as a pro and has some good grappling experience. Javad will be making his promotional debut in that bout. Makes a lot of sense to give Gable the loser here. Louie is just 11-6. Either guy would give Gable a very realistically matched heavyweight considering the outcome on Saturday— but also respects his grappling capabilities/accolades.
Steveson’s next fight: Loser of Louie Sutherland vs. Javad Mahjoub
Iwo Baraniewski
(#15) Alonzo Menifield braved an ugly injury suffered in round one to score a split decision victory over the undefeated Iwo Baraniewski to open UFC 331’s main card on Saturday. Iwo is now 9-1 as a pro and 3-1 under the UFC banner since being signed off the 2025 season of the Contender Series. Baraniewski had stopped all three of his UFC opponents in the first-round heading into this fight. Iwo had also earned a bonus for all three of those performances.
Iwo’s next fight should be against another man that is just narrowly out of the light heavyweight rankings. That man is, Dustin Jacoby. Dustin is 10-7-1 with the UFC. Jacoby was riding a three-fight, three-finish win streak up until he was stopped by Muhammad Saidov back in July. Saidov dispatched the veteran with a head kick and punches in the second round. These two are in different stages in their respective careers but have a similar fight history right now. High action standup battle that would instantly be a hit for the fans. Book high up on a fight night card.
Baraniewski’s next fight: Dustin Jacoby