Joshua Van plans to finish Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331, defend again quickly

PHILADELPHIA – Joshua Van is ready to prove he can beat Alexandre Pantoja again, and is predicting another stoppage. The first time the pair met was at UFC 323, where Van took the title from Pantoja in just 26 seconds. Pantoja suffered an early arm injury, and the fight was over before many felt it truly started. Van maintains that his actions led to the injury, which means he is the rightful owner of the men's UFC flyweight title. "Nah, man. I beat him the first time, and I'm going to do it again this time," Van told MMA Junkie. "... I'll definitely finish him inside three rounds. Like I said, it's all the same with the first fight. In the first right, I told you guys I was going to finish him inside three rounds. Going into this fight, I see the same thing." This time around, Van and Pantoja meet in the main event of UFC 331, which takes place Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. It will be Van's first headlining spot in the UFC, which his team certainly celebrated for a moment. "It was definitely crazy when they announced that I was going to be the main event," Van said. "The whole gym  – we went crazy. But now, it kinda like ease into it, for sure." Last year was a wild one for Van. He competed four times, starting on the prelims against Rei Tsuruya in March, and ending with the flyweight title around his waist in December. It was a busy year, and a level of activity he hopes to be able to maintain even as champion. "I always want to stay active," Van said. "If I'm gonna be training all the time, why not fight all the time, right? That's kind of my mindset." Van started his 2026 campaign by picking up his first title defense in May. He retained his title against Tatsuro Taira by stopping him in the final round with punches. Both took home their share of the Fight of the Night bonus. Now that the Myanmar-born champion has a title defense under his belt, and he's getting more and more recognition everywhere he goes, he admits the change can be somewhat jarring at times. However, he knew what he signed up for when reaching for such lofty goals, and he appreciates the attention from fans. "It's not tough when I'm around my coaches and my family, and things like that, but sometimes, you know, people just look at you like a celebrity or something, so they just come up to you like they have the right or something. Sometimes it gets overwhelming, but it comes with it. At the end of the day, it's all love and support, so, I appreciate the support and love I get." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Joshua Van plans to finish Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331, defend again quickly