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.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 19: (L-R) Joshua Van of Myanmar knocks down Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil in the UFC flyweight championship fight during the UFC 331 event at Crypto.com Arena on September 19, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

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:

Subham

Subham is a writer and editor with experience spanning MMA, Health & Fitness, true crime, and pop culture. He has previously worked with Sportskeeda MMA, SK True Crime, and SK Pop, Movies, and Shows.
He currently covers the UFC for LowKickMMA and MMA Pros Picks.