Joshua Van put on a striking masterclass to secure a unanimous-decision win over Alexandre Pantoja and retain his flyweight title at UFC 331 in Los Angeles. The 24-year-old from Myanmar settled the score with the former champion after their first fight ended with a freak injury. Van cemented his reign atop the 125-pound division, defeating the Brazilian via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-47, 50-45) in Saturday night's main event.
Pantoja had suffered an accidental elbow dislocation 26 seconds into their first fight in December last year, resulting in Van becoming UFC flyweight champion without an outright win over the Brazilian, who had reigned over the division for at least two years. Van, the first UFC champion from Myanmar, defended the belt against Tatsuro Taira in May but was left waiting to seal his status as the best in the division as 36-year-old Pantoja recovered from the injury.
"A lot of people said that was an accidental win … well, doubt me now," Van said after his second title defence, which extended his professional MMA record to 18 wins and two losses. Pantoja took Van down in the first round before landing heavy punches and knees in a fiery exchange, as Van retaliated with a slicing elbow. "You're too good to brawl with this guy," Van's coaches told him during the break, suggesting a more tactical approach.
Van peppered Pantoja with left-handed jabs in the second round and rocked the Brazilian with a fluid combination of punches in the third. Pantoja controlled the fourth round as he took Van down but was unable to submit him. In the final round, Van stalked Pantoja and knocked him down with an overhand right, securing the win on the judges' scorecards.
In the co-main event, Armenian contender Arman Tsarukyan staked his claim for a shot at the lightweight title when he pinned Mauricio Ruffy to the cage, rocked him with a left elbow and knocked him out with a right elbow with four seconds to spare in the first round. "I knew my time would come, so I was patient," said Tsarukyan, who extended his win streak to six fights, as he called for a bout with champion Justin Gaethje.
In featherweight action, former four-time, two-division Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull (38-9 MMA) earned his first UFC stoppage win, dismantling South Korea's Dooho Choi via TKO within three minutes and 28 seconds of the opening round. Brazil's Pitbull overwhelmed Choi with sharp volume striking before landing a devastating right hand that forced the referee to step in. In the heavyweight division, Sean Sharaf pulled off one of the year's most stunning upsets, needing just 12 seconds to shock Gable Steveson with a first-round TKO. The 12-second finish marked the third-fastest knockout in UFC heavyweight history. A visibly frustrated Steveson refused to remain inside the Octagon as Sharaf had his hand officially raised.
Source: www.aljazeera.com