Joshua Van retains — Pantoja rematch closed in a Fight of the Night war
Van took a unanimous decision over Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331 (49-46, 48-47, 50-45), earned Fight of the Night, and closed the rematch on his second title defense.
Joshua Van kept the UFC flyweight title Saturday night in Los Angeles, beating Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision in a Fight of the Night rematch that closed the unfinished business from their first meeting.
The scorecards read 49-46, 48-47, and 50-45. Van is now 18-2. It is his second consecutive title defense.
What Saturday settled
At Crypto.com UFC 331, Van and Pantoja went five rounds at Crypto.com Arena. UFC.com’s main-card recap described an early Pantoja surge — the challenger taking the fight to the champion in both phases — before Van found his footing in the second and third. Pantoja put Van on the canvas in the fourth but could not advance. In the fifth, Van was the more active and effective of the two, landing in combination, dropping Pantoja, and pulling away as the round progressed.
When the cards came in, all three judges had Van ahead: 49-46, 48-47, 50-45. Fight of the Night went to the main event. The rematch Pantoja had been asking for is over. The injury-asterisk that hung over their first fight is no longer the open question in the division.
How they got back here
Van won the belt at UFC 323 when their first title fight ended in a Round 1 TKO after Pantoja was injured. He then defended against Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328, stopping Taira in Round 5. Saturday’s decision was the five-round validation bout the rematch was built to be — not a first title shot for either man.
What’s next (and what isn’t)
Van’s next challenger is not booked. Manel Kape remains high in the UFC.com rankings and in the conversation; that is ranking noise and matchmaking talk, not a UFC date. The nearest flyweight ladder fight on the calendar is Lone'er Kavanagh vs. Ramazan Temirov on Oct. 24 at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi — a ranked bout, not a title eliminator announcement.
Bottom line
Van retains. The rematch is closed. Second defense is in the books. The flyweight title picture moves from “unfinished rematch” to “who’s next” — and the promotion has not named that fight yet.
