UFC 331 Preview: Van vs. Pantoja 2 for the Flyweight Title, and Tsarukyan Finally Fights

The rematch this desk has tracked since it was announced, and a lightweight fight that has been waiting for a slot like this.

The main event Joshua Van won the belt from Alexandre Pantoja; now he has to do it again. The numbers are counter-intuitive — the Fight Intelligence hub has them as bars — because Pantoja, cast as the smaller veteran, actually holds the reach edge, and the twelve-year age gap runs the way you would expect. A champion at 24 against the most decorated late-bloomer in the division's history: can a grappling-heavy veteran solve a faster, younger champion twice in a year, or was the first result the new order?

Tsarukyan, five rounds, finally Arman Tsarukyan against Mauricio Ruffy is scheduled for five rounds, which tells you how the promotion sees it. Tsarukyan has been the lightweight the division keeps waiting on; Ruffy is the kind of striker who makes waiting expensive.

The rest of a real card Renato Moicano and Brian Ortega run it back. Patricio Pitbull meets Doo Ho Choi at featherweight. Charles Jourdain fights Marlon Vera at bantamweight. Two heavyweight fights — Tuivasa vs. Despaigne, Steveson vs. Sharaf — carry their own volume. This is a pay-per-view with stakes past the top two.

Pick it, then watch it The hub carries a reader pick for the main event — tap who you have, see the split. It is a game, labelled as one; the desk publishes verified facts and its own editorial read, never a probability. The style read is there too. The recap lands Monday via the coverage desk.

The first fight told us Van could take the belt. The second tells us whether he can keep it from the man who knows him best.

Also this week: Isaac Cruz defends the interim WBC super lightweight title against Nestor Bravo in San Diego.