Twenty-six seconds that settled nothing
Joshua Van holds the UFC flyweight title because of 26 seconds in December. That is how long the first fight with Alexandre Pantoja lasted at UFC 323 before Pantoja dislocated his elbow and the belt changed hands. Neither man has stopped arguing about what it proved.
They meet again on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and Pantoja has framed the rematch as the champion’s problem rather than his own.
“It is what it is,” the Brazilian said of the injury. “Saturday night, he has a chance to prove (it wasn’t a fluke).”
Van is not interested in that framing. “Man, I can’t wait,” he told reporters at Thursday’s press conference. “Tune in. We’re gonna whip (Pantoja’s) ass again.”
Try it for $0.99.
Eight years since the UFC last came to Los Angeles
UFC 331 is the promotion’s first card in the city since UFC 227 in August 2018, when Henry Cejudo and TJ Dillashaw left the building then called Staples Center with gold. That is a long absence for a market this size, and the crowd at Thursday’s press conference made the point loudly enough.
Van (17-2) is defending for the second time. Pantoja (30-6) had built one of the more durable title runs the division has seen before the freak stoppage took the belt away from him.
The head-to-head record reads 1-0 to the champion. Almost nobody in Los Angeles is treating it that way.
Tsarukyan is already looking past Saturday
The co-main event puts Arman Tsarukyan (23-3) against Mauricio Ruffy (14-2) over five rounds, with a lightweight title shot waiting for the winner. Tsarukyan spent part of Thursday talking about Justin Gaethje, who took the undisputed belt by beating Ilia Topuria in June.
“I’m gonna send him a message after this fight,” Tsarukyan said.
He and Ruffy also fell out over Alexander Volkanovski’s wrestling, which Tsarukyan dismissed. Ruffy did not let it pass. “After all the storied history he’s built in the UFC … you’re gonna tell me he doesn’t know wrestling? OK, bro.”
Further down the main card, former Bellator two-division champion Patricio Pitbull (37-9) faces Dooho Choi (17-4-1) at featherweight, and Alonzo Menifield (18-6-1) opens against unbeaten Iwo Baraniewski (9-0) at light heavyweight. The main card starts at 9 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
Discover the rest of our MMA news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply