UFC 331 puts flyweight title rematch at centre of Los Angeles card
Joshua Van will defend the flyweight title against former champion Alexandre Pantoja at Crypto.com Arena, with Arman Tsarukyan facing Mauricio Ruffy in the co-main event.
UFC 331 is scheduled for Saturday at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, with a flyweight title rematch between champion Joshua Van and former champion Alexandre Pantoja headlining the card.
Van, 24, is listed at 17-2 and is expected to make his second title defence. CBS Sports reports that he defeated Tatsuro Taira by fifth-round TKO in May in his first defence.
Pantoja is listed at 30-6. CBS Sports says the pair’s first meeting ended 26 seconds into the opening round after an elbow injury, with Van winning by first-round TKO. Van is now a slight betting favourite, after Pantoja was heavily favoured for the initial bout, according to the report.
The co-main event will bring together Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy. Tsarukyan has not fought for a UFC championship and withdrew from a scheduled 2025 title bout because of a back injury, according to CBS Sports. The report says the winner is not guaranteed a title opportunity.
The wider card includes former two-division Bellator champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire against Choi Doo-ho, Mason Jones Steveson against Sean Sharaf, and Australian heavyweight Tai Tuivasa against Robelis Despaigne. Tuivasa, known as “Bam Bam”, is listed as having lost seven consecutive fights.
