Van set for rematch against Pantoja at UFC 331

A flyweight title rematch between Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja will headline UFC 331 in September, officials announced Thursday. Additionally, a five-round, lightweight matchup between Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy will co-headline the event, which will take place Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Van (17-2) won the UFC's 125-pound championship in a first-round TKO over Pantoja (30-6) in December. But the result was somewhat unsettled as Pantoja suffered a freak elbow injury in the opening seconds, when bracing to catch himself on the mat after Van caught an early kick. Van has repeatedly expressed interest in running back a matchup to silence any doubt about his status as champion. He has already defended the belt once, against Tatsuro Taira in May. Tsarukyan (23-3) has turned into one of the UFC's biggest stars, despite not fighting since a second-round submission win over Dan Hooker in November. The 29-year-old is widely seen as the most deserving No. 1 lightweight title challenger. He is 10-2 in the UFC, and is currently riding a five-fight win streak. He was scheduled to challenge then-champion Islam Makhachev for the title in January 2025 but was forced to withdraw the week of the fight because of back spasms. Ruffy (14-2) is considered one of the most dangerous new title prospects at lightweight. The Brazilian is 5-1 in the UFC with four knockouts. Tsarukyan and Ruffy are currently ranked No. 2 and No. 7 in the division, respectively.