Joshua Van puts the flyweight title on the line against Alexandre Pantoja this Saturday at Crypto.com Arena, as UFC returns to Los Angeles for Crypto.com UFC 331 — the promotion’s first card at the building in eight years.
The rematch was set nine months after their first meeting at UFC 323 ended in an injury stoppage. Van left that night with the belt after Pantoja suffered an elbow injury 26 seconds into the fight. Since then the Myanmar champion has defended once, stopping Tatsuro Taira in the fifth round at UFC 328. Pantoja, 36, arrives chasing a second reign: before December he had stacked four straight title defenses, including submissions of Kai Asakura and Kai Kara-France, and an eight-fight winning streak.
Main card time is 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on Paramount+ in the United States, with prelims at 7 p.m. ET and early prelims at 5:30 p.m. ET.
The co-main is a rare five-round non-title lightweight fight between No. 2 Arman Tsarukyan and No. 7 Mauricio Ruffy. Tsarukyan is 10-2 in the UFC and on a five-fight streak that includes a November win over Dan Hooker in Qatar. Ruffy has finished Rafael Fiziev and Michael Chandler this year while training in Australia with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Patricio Pitbull, 39, meets Dooho Choi at featherweight after going the distance with Yair Rodriguez, Dan Ige and Aaron Pico in his first three UFC outings (one win, over Ige). Heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson, coming off a first-round debut win over Elisha Ellison, faces Sean Sharaf. Light heavyweight Alonzo Menifield tests Contender Series graduate Iwo Baraniewski, who is 9-0 and has finished Ibo Aslan, Austen Lane and Junior Tafa in a combined 3:22 since signing.
On the undercard, Marlon Vera looks to end a four-fight slide against Charles Jourdain, who is 3-0 since moving to bantamweight. Tai Tuivasa meets Robelis Despaigne, who knocked out Junior Dos Santos and later claimed Karate Combat’s heavyweight title. Featherweights Michael Aswell Jr. and JooSang Yoo both need a bounce-back win. Middleweight Ryan Gandra, on a nine-fight streak with Contender Series-era knockouts of Jose Daniel Medina and Zach Reese, is also on the card opposite Ozzy Diaz.
Early prelims include Edmen Shahbazyan versus Brunno Ferreira, Casey O’Neill (fresh off a March knockout of Gabriella Fernandes) versus Eduarda Moura, and Giga Chikadze versus Joanderson Brito.
Crypto.com UFC 331 card
Main card (Sat, Sep 19 / 9:00 p.m. ET — Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles)
- Flyweight title: Joshua Van vs Alexandre Pantoja
- Lightweight (5 rounds): Arman Tsarukyan vs Mauricio Ruffy
- Featherweight: Patricio Pitbull vs Dooho Choi
- Heavyweight: Gable Steveson vs Sean Sharaf
- Light heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield vs Iwo Baraniewski
Prelims (7:00 p.m. ET)
- Bantamweight: Marlon Vera vs Charles Jourdain
- Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa vs Robelis Despaigne
- Featherweight: Michael Aswell Jr. vs JooSang Yoo
Early prelims (5:30 p.m. ET) and other bouts
- Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan vs Brunno Ferreira
- Women’s flyweight: Casey O’Neill vs Eduarda Moura
- Featherweight: Giga Chikadze vs Joanderson Brito
- Middleweight: Ryan Gandra vs Ozzy Diaz
Stream the U.S. windows on Paramount+ (early prelims also on UFC FIGHT PASS).
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