Joshua Van vs Alexandre Pantoja
Although he defended his title earlier this year against Tatsuro Taira, Joshua Van’s victory at UFC 331 on Saturday solidified his claim as king of the 125-pound division. Van showcased his improved defensive grappling against the former champ, defending 13 of Pantoja’s 18 takedown attempts and staying safe when the fight went to the mat.
The key to Van’s safety on the ground was preventing his opponent from taking his back. With 9 rear-naked chokes in his career and six in the UFC, Pantoja is amongst the best grapplers in the entire sport of MMA when he has his opponent’s back. This was something Van was clearly well aware of; the Burmese fighter remained vigilant when he was taken down, allowing Pantoja to retain control but refusing to concede his back. While this lost him the fourth round, it neutralized Pantoja’s most dangerous weapon and kept Van alive. For a striker as sharp as Van, that was well worth the trade.
Like many of his fights, Van dominated the stand-up in the later rounds. The 24-year-old is quickly developing one of the best gas tanks in the entire UFC, turning one of Pantoja’s strengths into a weakness. Van’s accurate combos and ability to make his opponent miss allowed him to amass a stamina advantage over five rounds against Pantoja’s relentless pressure.
Joshua Van’s Next Fight: Manuel Kape
Kape was the definitive #1 contender behind Pantoja and deserves the next shot at the champ. With four straight KO victories over top-ten flyweights, Kape presents a new challenge for Van: a durable, powerful striker who will have a distinct size advantage. The Angolan flyweight will be the most dangerous striker Van has faced.
Alexandre Pantoja’s Next Fight: Tatsuro Taira
A battle of former Van opponents, Taira vs Pantoja pits the two best grapplers in the division against one another, and Taira’s rangy striking against Pantoja’s pressure-based striking should also be an interesting dynamic. The winner of this matchup is instantly back in the title picture, while the loser can take a step down and fight someone in the back end of the top ten.
Both fighters took a lot of damage in their title fights this year. This fight could be a Fight Night main event in late spring of 2027, or added to a card early next year. Whenever it happens, it will be a fascinating matchup both on the ground and on the feet.
Arman Tsarukyan vs Mauricio Ruffy
Like the main event, UFC 331’s co-main featured a talented striker against a top-tier grappler. With a 5’11 frame, 75-inch reach, and sniper-like precision, 7th-ranked Ruffy’s combination of range and accuracy makes him one of the UFC’s most unique strikers. In what looked to be a classic “style makes fights” matchup, Ruffy faced one of the UFC’s most well-rounded grapplers in Tsarukyan.
The fight ended with a subversion of the traditional grappler vs striker narrative: it was the grappler Tsarukyan who knocked out Ruffy with a well-placed elbow on the break at the end of Round One.
Ruffy did an excellent job of defending Tsarukyan’s takedowns, officially stopping 9/10 of the Armenian’s attempts and leveraging his large frame to stay on his feet. The two fighters spent over half the first round pinned to the cage grappling, and it looked like Ruffy would escape the round with a lot of momentum.
That momentum was quickly snuffed out by a Tsarukyan elbow as the two fighters engaged by the fence with nine seconds left in Round One. Ruffy’s hands went down anticipating a takedown attempt, and Tsarukyan instead threw a short elbow. It was a mistake that cost Ruffy the fight.
Arman Tsarukyan’s Next Fight: Justin Gaethje
Tsarukyan has a top-five win to his name and just dispatched a dangerous striker within one round. Standing in the way of Tsarukyan’s title hopes is a crowded Lightweight division made even more complicated by Justin Gaethje’s hold on the belt. The number two and three contenders – Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira – both have wins over Gaethje, but Tsarukyan has a win over Oliveira, and Holloway recently lost to Oliveira. There are also rumors of an Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje rematch to take place next year.
Regardless of what happens in front of him in the rankings, Arman’s next fight should be for the belt. He faced a dynamic striker and rising star in the division, and took him out within a round. Saturday’s performance added another name to a stacked Tsarukyan resume that makes him more than deserving of a shot at UFC gold.
Mauricio Ruffy’s Next Fight: Jalin Turner
Ruffy now has losses against two top-ten lightweights in Tsarukyan and Benoît Saint Denis. He was given a step up in competition on Saturday, and for as good as his grappling defense looked, he still came up short.
A fight against the 6’3 Turner should present Ruffy with an interesting challenge from within the rankings of the Lightweight division. Turner is a long, dangerous striker who has had a career resurgence following a brief retirement in 2025. His frame allows him to tower over most of his opponents and hit them from distances and angles they simply can’t respond to.
More importantly for Ruffy, Turner will almost certainly keep the fight standing. This will give the Brazilian the freedom to let his weapons go and show off the skills that brought him as high as the #7 ranking in the world. Ruffy’s loss at the hands of Tsarukyan came largely as a result of his fear of the takedown; he will not have to worry about that against a striker like Turner.
Other Main Card Fights To Make After UFC 331
Patricio Pitbull vs José Delgado
Doo Ho Choi vs Giga Chikadze
Alonzo Menifield vs Modestas Bukauskas
Iwo Baraniewski vs Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev
