UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2 Picks, Predictions, Odds & Full Card

Joshua Van looks to defend his flyweight belt on Saturday night when he meets former titleholder Alexandre Pantoja for the second time in the main event of UFC 331 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The early preliminary card begins at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by the prelims at 7 p.m. ET and the five-fight main card at 9 p.m. ET on Paramount+.

The rematch comes nine months after an unusual ending to their first championship fight. Van claimed the flyweight belt at UFC 323 when Pantoja suffered an elbow injury just 26 seconds into the opening round, bringing the Brazilian’s run as champion to an abrupt end.

Van has since had an opportunity to establish himself as champion inside the Octagon. The 24-year-old defended the title against Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328 in May, overcoming difficult stretches on the ground before stopping Taira 1:32 into the fifth round. Van is now 10-1 in the UFC and carries a seven-fight winning streak into his second defense.

Pantoja returns for the first time since the injury with an opportunity to regain a championship he previously defended four times. Before UFC 323, the 36-year-old had won eight consecutive fights, with title defenses against Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, Kai Asakura and Kai Kara-France.

The five-round co-main event pairs Arman Tsarukyan with Mauricio Ruffy in an important lightweight matchup. Tsarukyan has won five consecutive fights and owns a 10-2 UFC record, most recently submitting Dan Hooker in the second round last November. His current run also includes a unanimous decision over former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 300.

Ruffy enters with momentum of his own after responding to his loss against Benoît Saint Denis with consecutive stoppage victories. The Brazilian knocked out Rafael Fiziev in February before stopping former lightweight champion Michael Chandler in June.

The remainder of the main card includes former Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull against Dooho Choi at featherweight, while undefeated light heavyweight Iwo Baraniewski faces Alonzo Menifield. Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson makes his second UFC appearance against Sean Sharaf in a heavyweight matchup.

UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2 Full Card & Odds

Van enters his second flyweight title defense as a slight favorite. Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook lists the champion at -135, with Pantoja priced at +110 as the underdog.

Here’s the complete UFC 331 lineup and the latest betting odds at Hard Rock Bet:

Referenced odds subject to change.

Best Bet for UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2

Hard Rock Bet’s Stats Hub offers matchup data and betting trends for every bout on every UFC card. One of the longest active streaks belongs to the champion in Saturday night’s main event:

Joshua Van Moneyline (-135): Van has won each of his last seven UFC fights, a run that has taken him from rising flyweight contender to defending champion.

There isn’t much worth taking from Van’s first meeting with Pantoja from a matchup perspective. The fight lasted only 26 seconds before Pantoja injured his elbow while attempting to brace himself during a takedown sequence, leaving many of the questions surrounding the matchup unanswered.

Van’s subsequent defense against Taira provided a much better look at how the young champion responds when a title fight becomes difficult. Taira found success with his grappling and put Van in compromising positions, but Van continued working back to his feet and increased his offensive pressure as the fight progressed. He ultimately overwhelmed Taira with strikes early in Round 5 to record his seventh consecutive UFC victory.

Pantoja presents a much different challenge. The former champion had won eight straight before the injury at UFC 323 and successfully defended the belt four times, including submission victories over Asakura and Kara-France. His experience, grappling and championship résumé make this a considerably more demanding assignment than Van’s current winning streak alone might suggest.

But Van has continued to improve while maintaining one of the longest active winning runs in the division, and the Taira fight showed he can remain effective deep into a five-round championship fight even when an opponent succeeds in putting him in difficult positions. With seven consecutive UFC victories behind the defending champion, Joshua Van Moneyline is our best bet for UFC 331.

• • Best Bet: Joshua Van Moneyline (-135)

UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2 Event Info

• 📅 Date: Saturday, September 19
• ⏰ Start Time: 5:30 p.m. ET (Early Prelims), 7:00 p.m. ET (Prelims), 9:00 p.m. ET (Main Card)
• 🏟️ Location: Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, California
• 💻 Streaming: Paramount+

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