Joshua Van vs Alexandre Pantoja 2 Betting Tips – Pantoja To Regain Flyweight Crown At UFC 331

Leigh Copson

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Last updated: Thu 17 Sep 2026 11:01

Leigh Copson 3 hours ago

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Pantoja's grappling is expected to be decisive against Van’s weakness
Van is the defending champ with a 6-fight win streak and striking power
Experts favor Pantoja to regain the UFC flyweight title in the rematch

Alexandre Pantoja (Getty Images)

Joshua Van vs Alexandre Pantoja 2 Betting Tips

Key Numbers – Can Pantoja Go 6-1 In UFC Title Fights?
Joshua Van Making Second Defence Of Title
Alexandre Pantoja Looking To Bounce Back From Loss

Alexandre Pantoja is tipped to regain the UFC flyweight title in this rematch.

Joshua Van has the striking advantage, but his biggest weakness is his grappling, and Pantoja can take full advantage of that to either force a submission or grind out the decision.

Key Numbers – Can Pantoja Go 6-1 In UFC Title Fights?

Alexandre Pantoja is 5-1 in UFC title fights (1 loss due to injury)
4 of Alexandre Pantoja’s last 7 wins have been by submission
22 of Alexandre Pantoja’s 30 career wins have been by submission or decision
Joshua Van has been submitted previously in his career

Joshua Van Making Second Defence Of Title

Joshua Van is the defending UFC flyweight champion with a professional record of 17-2 (9 KOs, 2 Subs).

Van debuted in the UFC in 2023 and wasted little time making an early impression as he reeled off three consecutive victories.

Having beaten Zhalgas Zhumagulov and Kevin Borjas on points, he then scored his first stoppage win inside the Octagon as he knocked out Felipe Bunes in the second round.

His run was brought to a shuddering halt by a third-round knockout loss to Charles Johnson, but the 25-year-old has responded with a six-fight win streak that has propelled him to the top of the division.

Van got back on track with a unanimous points win over Edgar Chairez, and followed that up with two more points successes as he beat Cody Durden and Rei Tsuruya.

He then knocked out Bruno Gustavo da Silva in the third round in June of last year, and just a handful of weeks later he stepped back inside the Octagon to out-point Brandon Royval over three rounds.

That earned him a title fight to close out the year, and he was awarded a TKO win over Alexandre Pantoja when the champion suffered a fight-ending arm injury just 26 seconds into the contest.

Van has made one defence so far this year, knocking out Tatsuro Taira in the final round of their bout.

Alexandre Pantoja Looking To Bounce Back From Loss

Alexandre Pantoja is a former UFC flyweight champion with a professional record of 30-6 (8 KOs, 12 Subs).

Pantoja arrived in the UFC in early 2017 and went on to win five of his first six fights for the promotion.

His momentum faltered between July 2019 and 2020 as he lost twice in three fights, sandwiching a first-round knockout of Matt Schnell with unanimous decision defeat to Deiveson Figueiredo and Askar Askarov, but he responded to that with his best run in the UFC.

The 36-year-old Brazilian got back on track with a unanimous decision win over Manel Kape, and then tapped out Brandon Royval in the second and Alex Perez in the first to land a flyweight title shot.

Pantoja then took his big chance as he earned a split decision win over Brandon Moreno in July 2023.

‘The Cannibal’ went on to make four successful defences of the championship, beating Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg on points before submitting Kai Asakura and Kai Kara-France.

His reign ended last December though, as he sustained a fight-ending arm injury just 26 seconds into the fight with Joshua Van, resulting in a TKO defeat.

Verdict

Joshua Van v Alexandre Pantoja

Joshua Van is a rising star in UFC, but Alexandre Pantoja is far from washed up.

‘The Cannibal’ has the grappling skills to capitalise on Van’s biggest weakness, and we are backing him to make the most of that to regain the flyweight title.

Alexandre Pantoja

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During his career he has covered some of the biggest sporting events on the planet, including the Super Bowl, the Champions League Final and the World Cup Final. He has also covered almost every major boxing match and UFC fight card during this time.. His specialist sports are American Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts and Football.

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