Van silences critics with dominant Pantoja win as Tsarukyan and Pitbull earn knockout finishes at UFC 331

At UFC 331 in Los Angeles, flyweight champion Joshua Van put critics to rest by defeating former champion Alexandre Pantoja in a decisive five-round decision, landing 140 significant head strikes to Pantoja’s 99 and surviving a late submission attempt. The co-main event saw No. 2 lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan deliver a dramatic first-round knockout of Mauricio Ruffy with a pair of elbows at 4:56, preserving his six-fight winning streak and bolstering his title-shot credentials.

Featherweight veteran Patricio Pitbull added a first-round finish to his résumé, crushing Dooho Choi with a right hand before the referee stopped the contest at 3:28. The night also featured Sean Sharaf’s 12-second knockout of heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson, tying for the third-fastest heavyweight KO, and Alonzo Menifield’s split-decision win over Iwo Baraniewski despite breaking his left thumb early in the fight.