UFC 331: Van–Pantoja II Set to Resolve Bad Blood in Los Angeles
Joshua Van walked out of their first fight with the belt. Alexandre Pantoja left with a dislocated elbow and a sense of injustice that has festered for months. On Saturday in Los Angeles, that unfinished business headlines a UFC 331 card stacked with jeopardy, storylines and a surprising amount of needle.
This isn’t the usual respectful flyweight chess match. Not anymore.
Van–Pantoja II: legitimacy vs legacy
Their first meeting lasted just 26 seconds. Van claimed the title when Pantoja’s arm gave way in a freak injury, a champion dethroned before a real exchange could even develop. The result went into the books, but it never felt like closure.
Van, just 24, has spent the months since trying to prove he’s more than the beneficiary of a medical mishap. His first defense in May against Tatsuro Taira helped. He had to dig deep, adjust on the fly and survive rough spots before turning a grueling five-round war into a statement finish. It was the kind of victory that turns a prospect into a problem.
Pantoja, 36, sees it differently. To him, the belt was taken, not lost. He enters as the betting underdog, carrying the kind of chip only a veteran champion can grow when his reign ends on a doctor’s report instead of a clean knockout or submission. He has the résumé, the rounds and the scars. He also has time working against him.
Yet the Brazilian’s late-career surge can’t be dismissed. He became a better, more complete fighter after finally grabbing gold deep into his UFC run. That version of Pantoja—smarter, nastier, efficient in scrambles—still lurks. If he can weather Van’s early storm and drag the younger man into deep, ugly waters, a second reign is there for him.
Van’s backers point to youth, speed and the kind of fearless striking that can erase doubts in a single exchange. Pantoja’s supporters point to experience, craft and the sense that he remains the more complete mixed martial artist. One side is chasing legitimacy. The other is fighting to reclaim a legacy that slipped away without a proper fight.
Someone walks out with answers. Someone walks out with questions that won’t go away.
Tsarukyan’s long road back
The co-main event feels less like a tune-up and more like a final exam.
Arman Tsarukyan should already have fought for the lightweight title. He was booked to challenge Islam Makhachev in Los Angeles back in January 2025, only for an injury during his weight cut to tear that shot away. More than 20 months later, he’s back in the same city, one fight away again, but with no margin for error.
Standing in his way is Mauricio Ruffy, a rising contender who has made his name this year with two wild, crowd-pleasing wins. Ruffy is dangerous, especially on the feet, where his kicks and creativity can flip a round in seconds. He’s also been exposed. Benoit Saint Denis mauled him on the ground in 2025, laying out a brutal blueprint for how to break him.
That’s exactly where Tsarukyan lives. The Armenian’s pressure wrestling, suffocating top game and cardio make him a nightmare for anyone who can’t match his grappling pace. He’s taken down everyone he has faced in the UFC except the opponents he stopped before needing to. Even Makhachev felt his strength in their debut meeting.
Ruffy’s work with Alexander Volkanovski hints at evolution, but has he closed the gap enough in a year to survive Tsarukyan’s grind? The experts don’t think so. Across the CBS Sports panel, every pick leans Tsarukyan—by late stoppage or clear decision. The expectation is simple: drag Ruffy into deep water, test his lungs, then break him.
A dominant win doesn’t just keep Tsarukyan’s title hopes alive. It likely locks them in.
Choi vs Pitbull: fireworks with a ticking clock
If the main and co-main promise stakes, Dooho Choi vs. Patricio Pitbull promises chaos.
Choi, once written off after three straight losses, has quietly rebuilt himself. Four fights unbeaten, three straight TKOs, “The Korean Superboy” has rediscovered the violent, forward-marching style that made him a cult favorite. He thrives in firefights, trusting his chin, his timing and his power to outlast whoever stands in front of him.
Pitbull brings more than just name value. He’s one of the greatest fighters in Bellator history, a two-division champion whose blend of power and grappling terrorized featherweights and lightweights for years. On paper, his ground game is the one clear edge in this matchup.
The problem is the calendar. At 39, with a body that has absorbed championship rounds, wars and a brutal beating from Aaron Pico, the question isn’t whether Pitbull still has skills. It’s whether he can keep them firing at full speed against a younger, fresher opponent who refuses to take a backward step.
This has all the makings of a “don’t blink” fight. Choi’s pressure, Pitbull’s experience, both men willing to trade. The CBS panel leans heavily toward Choi, either by TKO or decision, banking on youth and volume to eventually crack a legend whose durability has been eroding in plain sight.
If Pitbull has one last great performance in him, this is the night to find it.
Steveson steps up, violence up and down the card
Further down the card, the intrigue doesn’t drop off.
Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson continues his transition from wrestling phenom to full-fledged heavyweight threat against fellow prospect Sean Sharaf. The odds are lopsided, and so are the picks. Every CBS analyst sees Steveson ending it early, whether by submission or brutal ground-and-pound. His wrestling is that overwhelming at this stage.
The main card opener at light heavyweight looks like a guaranteed car crash. Iwo Baraniewski meets Alonzo Menifield in the kind of matchup that rarely needs judges. Menifield swings with bad intentions, but the entire CBS crew expects Baraniewski to find the finish first, all five picking a stoppage inside the opening round.
Underneath, the names keep coming. Charles Jourdain vs. Marlon Vera at bantamweight. Robelis Despaigne against fan-favorite knockout artist Tai Tuivasa at heavyweight. Joanderson Brito vs. Giga Chikadze in a slick featherweight clash. Casey O’Neill trying to reassert herself at women’s flyweight against Eduarda Moura. Edmen Shahbazyan looking to steady a once-hyped career versus Brunno Ferreira.
Everywhere you look, there’s something at stake: a title shot, a second reign, a late-career stand, a prospect’s ceiling.
But the night will be remembered for what happens when Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja finally get the full fight they were denied the first time. One man needs validation. The other needs revenge.
In a division built on speed and skill, UFC 331 might come down to something far simpler: whose will breaks first under the lights in Los Angeles.
