The MMA pros have reacted to the 5-round battle between UFC flyweight titleholder Joshua Van and former champion Alexandre Pantoja.
Earlier tonight, in the main event of UFC 331, Van and Pantoja ran it back after 9 months, and this time, Van proved that his UFC 323 title win was no accident.
“The Fearless” worked on his takedown defense and stuffed several of Pantoja’s takedowns.
For 5 rounds, he and Pantoja traded nonstop for the majority of the minutes, and Van was the better striker tonight. He was in a flow state, and although the former champ didn’t slow down, Van landed the clearer, more effective blows despite Pantoja controlling the pace.
The 24-year-old dropped “The Cannibal” in the final frame, bloodied Pantoja up, and tried to submit the Brazilian. However, after 25 minutes of nonstop back-and-forth, neither fighter secured a finish.
Van was ahead on the scorecards and cruised to a unanimous decision win after five rounds to register his second successful UFC flyweight title defense.
MMA World reacts to Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja 2
Arnold Allen was super impressed with how the UFC 331 headliner played out. He posted on X:
“What a fight, What a card, What a fu*king sport #UFC331”
Former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo posted:
“Van looked very sharp in the final round; he did more than enough to take that one.”
Julianna Pena added:
“What a fight ! #ufc331 #vanvspantoja”
Ben Askren wrote:
“Wow!!! What a fight, Joshua Van is really impressive. He could be the champ for a while 👊👊”
Paulo Costa posted on X:
“Crazy pantoja looks like bar brawler . Van is outboxing”
Check out a few more reactions below:
