The UFC 331 results delivered a Fight of the Year contender and one of the biggest upsets in UFC history on Saturday night in Los Angeles. Joshua Van retained his flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Alexandre Pantoja, winning the rematch by scores of 49-46, 48-47, and 50-45. Arman Tsarukyan made a lightweight title case with a brutal elbow knockout. Sean Sharaf stunned Gable Steveson in 12 seconds, while Patricio Pitbull and Alonzo Menifield also left with wins.
| Fight | Result |
| Flyweight title: Joshua Van (c) vs. Alexandre Pantoja | Van by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 50-45) |
| Lightweight: Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy | Tsarukyan by KO (elbows), first round, 4:56 |
| Featherweight: Patricio Pitbull vs. Dooho Choi | Pitbull by TKO (strikes), first round, 3:28 |
| Heavyweight: Sean Sharaf vs. Gable Steveson | Sharaf by KO (punch), first round, 0:12 |
| Light heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield vs. Iwo Baraniewski | Menifield by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) |
Van and Pantoja arrived with unfinished business after their first meeting at UFC 323 ended in just 26 seconds because of Pantoja’s elbow injury. Fight week added a personal edge, with Van insisting he had won the first fight and even calling himself Pantoja’s “dad.” The rematch had to settle whether the belt truly belonged to the 24-year-old champion.
Pantoja set the tone before the first punch by refusing the touch of gloves, and the former champion went straight to a takedown once the fight began. The pace was frenetic from the opening seconds, with Pantoja ultra-aggressive and hunting for control. Little happened once the action hit the mat, and a reversal saw Van end up on top. Both men returned to their feet and traded shots, and Pantoja landed a second takedown, but Van was back up before the round ended.
The Pantoja/Van second round brought the first major turning point when an inadvertent headbutt opened a cut on Pantoja’s forehead. Herb Dean paused the action briefly, and a frustrated Pantoja demanded a point deduction from the referee. The delay did nothing to slow Pantoja’s pressure, which stayed super quick and relentless. Van answered with beautiful underhooks every time Pantoja shot for a takedown, and his jabs started finding their target on the feet.
Van’s striking took over in the third round as the champion mixed body shots with jabs and combinations. Pantoja told Van to bring it on, and the pace stayed unreal for both men. The takedowns simply were not there, and Pantoja had a hard time putting Van on the mat. A clear round on the feet left the champion firmly in control heading into the championship rounds.
Pantoja needed something in the fourth round, and he found it with a takedown that arrived with well over three minutes remaining. The former champion did not cause much damage on the ground, but he logged enough control time to secure the round. Little action followed, making it a quiet stretch in an otherwise ferocious fight.
Van’s corner asked him to be as technical as possible before the fifth round, and the champion delivered his most complete round of the night. His striking was elite as he battered the former champion from bell to bell. A right hand dropped Pantoja, and Van even attempted a Kimura before returning to overwhelm him with his boxing. That closing burst likely decided the fight.
The numbers show how relentless the fight was. Van landed 259 total strikes on 392 attempts, compared with 159 of 300 for Pantoja, and the pair combined for nearly 700 attempted strikes. Van also led in significant strikes, 181 to 147. Pantoja landed five takedowns and logged 9:11 of control time, yet Van’s takedown defense stopped most of his attempts.
The judges scored Pantoja/Van 49-46, 48-47 and 50-45 for Van, and the last card drew plenty of criticism from fighters reacting to the title defense. A 50-45 score gives Pantoja no rounds, which is hard to square with a frenetic first round and a fourth round he controlled on the mat. Even so, Van earned the win through cleaner striking and sharp takedown defense.
Backed it all up 😤 @JoshuaVanBT is THE UNDISPUTED CHAMP.
— UFC (@ufc) September 20, 2026
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Tsarukyan entered the co-main event needing a statement, and Mauricio Ruffy looked like one of the most dangerous strikers he could face. Ruffy landed a stiff jab early, and Tsarukyan responded by shooting for a takedown. Ruffy showed remarkable takedown defense, but Tsarukyan kept grinding until he controlled the clinch through the rest of the round.
Tsarukyan/Ruffy changed with four seconds left in the first round. Tsarukyan landed a nasty left elbow that shut Ruffy’s lights out, then held him up and landed another as Ruffy fell to the canvas unconscious. The finish came at 4:56 of the first round.
Tsarukyan called for a lightweight title shot after the win, and the request is hard to argue with. A dominant finish over Ruffy, with a fanbase firmly behind him, leaves the UFC with little reason to look elsewhere. Few contenders at 155 pounds can match that mix of grinding control and one-shot finishing power.
Sean Sharaf authored one of the great upsets in UFC history with a single left hook that put Gable Steveson to sleep just 12 seconds into the heavyweight bout. Steveson, a 2020 Olympic gold medalist mentored by Jon Jones, had been a massive favorite, while Sharaf came in winless in his previous two Octagon appearances and a big underdog at several sportsbooks. The finish ranks as the third-fastest heavyweight knockout in UFC history, behind only Todd Duffee and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
🫨🤯 OH MY GODDDDD!!! 🫨🤯
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 20, 2026
Sean Sharaf KOs Gable Steveson in a matter of SECONDS! #CryptoCom #UFC331 pic.twitter.com/X6fFf7IzrH
Patricio Pitbull looked slick from the opening bell, mixing his shots to the head and body of Dooho Choi. The Bellator legend opened a cut above Choi’s right eye early and held a clear power advantage. A big right hand froze Choi and sent him to the canvas, and a few ground-and-pound strikes finished it at 3:28 of the first round. Pitbull called out Jean Silva after the win.
Alonzo Menifield opened the main card with a gritty split decision over Iwo Baraniewski, and the toughness he showed was remarkable. Menifield broke his left thumb in the first round, with the bone coming out of the skin, yet he kept bringing the fight to Baraniewski. Fatigue set in for both men from the second round, and the fight was not a crowd favorite.
The preliminary card set a lively tone in Los Angeles, with four finishes and three decisions across seven fights. Marlon Vera snapped a four-fight losing streak with a third-round TKO of Charles Jourdain, while Casey O’Neill needed just 3:22 to armbar Eduarda Moura. Robelis Despaigne edged Tai Tuivasa by split decision, which handed Tuivasa his eighth straight loss and tied the UFC record.
| Fight | Result |
| Bantamweight: Marlon Vera vs. Charles Jourdain | Vera by TKO, third round, 2:02 |
| Heavyweight: Robelis Despaigne vs. Tai Tuivasa | Despaigne by split decision |
| Featherweight: Michael Aswell Jr. vs. Joo Sang Yoo | Aswell by split decision |
| Middleweight: Ryan Gandra vs. Ozzy Diaz | Gandra by TKO, first round, 2:04 |
| Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Brunno Ferreira | Shahbazyan by unanimous decision |
| Flyweight: Casey O’Neill vs. Eduarda Moura | O’Neill by armbar submission, first round, 3:22 |
| Featherweight: Joanderson Brito vs. Giga Chikadze | Brito by TKO (ground-and-pound), first round, 1:57 |
Van has now beaten both Pantoja and Tatsuro Taira, which leaves him with few obvious challengers at flyweight. The champion needs a fresh contender to keep the division moving, and a new face from the top of the rankings would suit him best. At 24, Van has time to build a lengthy reign, and this win erased the last doubts about how he won the belt.
Pantoja no longer has an injury to point to after this loss. At 36, the former champion should rebuild against a ranked opponent rather than chase an immediate third fight. His grappling remains dangerous enough to earn another shot if he strings wins together.
Tsarukyan called for a lightweight title shot after the knockout, and the case is hard to argue against. A finish over Ruffy, one of the division’s most dangerous strikers, is exactly the kind of statement contenders need. The UFC now has little reason to look elsewhere for its next challenger.
Ruffy walks away with a first-round loss but plenty to build on. The striker showed excellent takedown defense and landed a stiff jab, yet one elbow at the end of the round ended his night. A bounce-back fight against another ranked lightweight would help him regain momentum.
Van and Pantoja earned Fight of the Night, taking home $100,000 each for their five-round war. Tsarukyan and Casey O’Neill collected Performance of the Night honors and the same $100,000 for their first-round finishes. Dana White also gave Sharaf a special $50,000 Proper Chaos Bonus, a one-time award tied to the MobLand season two premiere, for the 12-second knockout of Steveson.
Showed out under the bright lights 👊@ArmanUFC & @KingCaseyMMA earn POTN bonuses after their incredible RD1 finishes!
— UFC (@ufc) September 20, 2026
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UFC 331 delivered chaos in every corner of the card, from a Fight of the Year contender to a 12-second knockout that will be replayed for years. Van proved he is no accident at the top of the flyweight division, and Pantoja proved he is still one of the best fighters on the planet. My UFC 331 prediction had Van winning by decision, and that landed, though Steveson, Choi and Baraniewski all missed. The full slate is a reminder of why MMA is impossible to predict, and nobody should be surprised if the next pay-per-view is just as wild.
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