Joshua Van – Alexandre Pantoja

Fighters' momentum

UFC 331 fight announced by the UFC on August 5, 2026, in Los Angeles, for the flyweight title, on September 19, 2026 at 23:00 UTC. Joshua Van is presented as champion and Alexandre Pantoja as former champion and challenger.

The main event and five-round format are probable, but the number of rounds is not explicitly confirmed on an open page. Van has won several three-round UFC fights by decision and defeated Tatsuro Taira by TKO in the fifth round in May 2026.

Pantoja has confirmed experience in several championship fights lasting through a fifth-round decision, against Steve Erceg, Brandon Royval, and Brandon Moreno.

Head-to-head

A previous bout is documented in December 2025, but it stopped after 26 seconds due to an elbow or arm injury to Pantoja. The score and complete sporting result are information not available.

This sequence is practically unusable for comparing styles: it does not allow any conclusion about the wrestling, ground game, or resilience of either fighter.

Preparation and physical condition

No official weigh-in had yet taken place at the time of the search; the actual weight and the success of the weight cut are unknown. No current injury, additional activity interruption, or replacement is publicly confirmed before the deadline.

Pantoja’s injury during the December 2025 bout is confirmed, but no medical conclusion about his recovery can be drawn from it. Van’s victory over Taira in May 2026 does not prove the absence of a current injury.

Context & news

Van is probably 1.65 m tall, probably has a 65-inch reach, and uses an orthodox stance. His limited UFC profile shows approximately 8.4 significant strikes landed per minute, 57.4% accuracy, and 75.7% takedown défense.

Pantoja is probably 1.65 m tall, probably has a 67-inch reach, and uses an orthodox stance; his profile shows approximately 4.38 significant strikes landed per minute, 50% accuracy, 69% takedown défense, 2.79 takedowns, and 0.98 submission attempts per fifteen minutes. Open data does not properly measure retreating défense, specific entries, performance under pressure, or cage control in this matchup.

Van scenario: maintain distance, land on the exit from exchanges, and win through accumulation, with the possibility of a late TKO; his obstacle is Pantoja’s closing of distance and control. Pantoja scenario: pressure, clinch, takedowns, control, and looking for the back or a submission, or winning a decision by slowing Van down; his obstacle is Van’s volume on entry.

Matchup and opponent

The two announced fighters are Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja. No replacement is confirmed before September 13, 2026 at 06:44 UTC.

The presentation fields do not constitute a home advantage, and no notion of home status should be inferred. The main event and five rounds remain probable, without explicit confirmation of the format.