UFC 331 Recap: Joshua Van Retains Title Against Alexandre Patoja
UFC 331 took place Saturday, September 19th, 2026, in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena. This event marked the first return of the flyweight class since 2018, and also included a rematch for Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja. The event featured a major lightweight matchup between Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy, plus appearances from notable figures in sports and internet culture.
Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja Part Two
Joshua Van defended the UFC flyweight championship against Alexandre Pantoja, winning by unanimous decision after five rounds.
The official scorecards were 49-46, 48-47 and 50-45 in Van's favor. UFC's official statistics recorded Van landing 259 total strikes compared with 159 for Pantoja. Van also scored a knockdown during the fight, while Pantoja continued to pressure him throughout the five-round championship bout.
The victory allowed Van to retain the flyweight title in the rematch.
Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy
The co-main event ended with one of the quickest finishes of the night. Arman Tsarukyan faced Mauricio Ruffy in a five-round lightweight matchup at 155 pounds.
Tsarukyan stopped Ruffy at 4:56 of the first round after landing elbows that brought the fight to an end. The official result was a first-round knockout by elbows.
One of the notable storylines surrounding the fight was streamer N3ON being in Tsarukyan's corner. N3ON's involvement had received attention before the event, and footage from the fight showed him working the corner alongside Tsarukyan's team.
Patricio Pitbull vs. Dooho Choi
Patricio Pitbull faced South Korean veteran Dooho Choi in a featherweight matchup. Pitbull ended the fight in the first round, stopping Choi by strikes at 3:28.
The fight was one of three first-round finishes on the main card and added another quick stoppage to the UFC 331 lineup.
Sean Sharaf vs. Gable Steveson
Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gable Steveson faced Sean Sharaf in a heavyweight bout. The fight lasted only 12 seconds.
Sharaf landed a left hand that stopped Steveson almost immediately after the opening bell. The official result was a first-round knockout at 0:12.
Alonzo Menifield vs. Iwo Baraniewski
Alonzo Menifield and Iwo Baraniewski went the distance in their light heavyweight matchup.
Menifield won by split decision. Two judges scored the fight 29-28 for Menifield, while another judge scored it 29-28 for Baraniewski.
Marlon Vera vs. Charles Jourdain
The preliminary card was headlined by Marlon "Chito" Vera against Charles Jourdain.
Vera earned a third-round TKO at 2:02 after a fight that went into the final round. The victory ended a four-fight losing streak for Vera, according to UFC's official recap.
Robelis Despaigne vs. Tai Tuivasa
Robelis Despaigne faced Tai Tuivasa in a heavyweight matchup that went to the judges.
Despaigne won by split decision. Two judges scored the fight 29-28 for Despaigne, while the third judge scored it 29-28 for Tuivasa.
Michael Aswell Jr. vs. JooSang Yoo
Michael Aswell Jr. and JooSang Yoo also went the distance.
Aswell won by split decision, with two judges scoring the fight 29-28 for Aswell and one judge scoring it 29-28 for Yoo. UFC noted that the victory gave Aswell his second UFC win.
Ryan Gandra vs. Ozzy Diaz
Ryan Gandra continued his run at middleweight against Ozzy Diaz.
Gandra finished Diaz by strikes at 2:04 of the first round. The victory gave Gandra another first-round finish in 2026, and UFC reported that he extended his winning streak into double digits.
Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Brunno Ferreira
Edmen Shahbazyan faced Brunno Ferreira in a middleweight bout that went the full three rounds.
Shahbazyan won by unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
Casey O'Neill vs. Eduarda Moura
Casey O'Neill submitted Eduarda Moura in the first round of their flyweight fight.
O'Neill finished the bout with an armbar at approximately the 3:20 mark of Round 1.
Joanderson Brito vs. Giga Chikadze
The event's opening fight featured Joanderson Brito against Giga Chikadze.
Chikadze initially had success with his kicking offense, but after slipping while throwing a head kick, Brito took the fight to the ground and followed with ground-and-pound.
The referee stopped the fight at 1:57 of the first round, giving Brito a KO victory.
Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega Removed From Card
One fight originally scheduled for UFC 331 did not take place.
Renato Moicano was initially scheduled to face Brian Ortega, but Ortega withdrew because of an injury before the event.
UFC subsequently announced that Moicano would be moved to another event, where he is scheduled to face Tom Nolan on October 31 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
UFC 331 in Los Angeles
The event took place at Crypto.com Arena, located at 1111 S. Figueroa Street in Los Angeles. The early preliminaries started at 2:30 p.m. PT, with the prelims following at 4 p.m. and the main card at 6 p.m. PT. In the United States, the event was available for streaming on Paramount+.
UFC 331 concluded with 12 completed fights, highlighted by Van's title defense as the final bout of the night and Tsarukyan's first-round victory as one of the fastest finishes on the main card.
