PHILADELPHIA – The build to UFC 331 is officially underway after the kick-off press conference on Friday featuring top athletes from the card.
UFC 331 takes place Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (Paramount+), and featured a flyweight title rematch in the main event. Champion Joshua Van (16-2 MMA, 10-1 UFC) attempts to make his second defense against former champion Alexandre Pantoja (30-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in an essential rebooking from when the belt switched hands in December after Pantoja suffered an arm injury just seconds into the contest.
The co-headliner, meanwhile, sees Arman Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) looks to further solidify a lightweight title shot against Mauricio Ruffy (14-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC), who can achieve a trajectory-changing win of his own in the 155-pound title scene.
All four athletes were on hand to answer questions from reporters about UFC 331, then afterward participated in their first set of faceoffs.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: UFC 331 first faceoffs with Van vs. Pantoja 2, Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy