After a devastating injury to Alexandre Pantoja in their first meeting eight months ago, Joshua Van returns to the octagon to face the former champion in a rematch for his UFC flyweight title this Sunday in Los Angeles.
The wait has been worth it and it is a main event that simply can not be missed but it’s not the only fight to look forward to at UFC 331.
We’ve gone through the entire main card and our best betting plays can be read below.
He became UFC flyweight champion due to an injury to his opponent but make no mistake about just how good Joshua Van is.
The 24 year old won his first three fights in the UFC before suffering his first loss but has gone undefeated in seven fights since including his first against Pantoja (injury) and defended his belt once against Tatsuro Taira in May.
Regardless of how his career plays out from here, Alexandre Pantoja will go down as one of the greatest flyweights that the sport has ever seen.
He put together eight wins in a row including claiming UFC gold against Brandon Moreno in 2023 and defended his belt four times before his dislocated elbow at the end of 2025.
While the injury looked bad, it went back into place straight away and he has clearly recovered well to be back in the octagon just eight months later to try and claim back his belt.
There may not be a better boxer in the entire UFC than Joshua Van and he can end the fight with one punch.
His combination punching makes him dangerous for any opponent but he is facing a very well rounded opponent who is more than capable should the fight go to the canvas.
This is a flip of the coin from a head to head market perspective but I believe their is value that the judges will need to declare a winner.
He may not be the most active lightweight but Armen Tsarukyan continues to win.
He made just one fight in 2024, one in 2025 and this will be the first time we see him in the octagon in 2026.
Three of his last five wins have been finished including a knock out win over Beneil Dariush and a submission win over Dan Hooker.
Is that enough for a title fight?
Mauricio Ruffy won a UFC contract through Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023 and has suffered just one loss in six fights in the octagon.
He has knockout wins over Bobby Green, Michael Chandler and Rafael Fiziev which is arguably a better resume than his opponent yet he comes into this fight as a huge underdog.
And that is because Armen Tsarukyan has a smothering wrestling style where he can control huge parts of a fight on the canvas.
The big factor in this fight in Ruffy’s favour is that this is a five round fight and I am willing to take the big price that he can land the finishing strike at some stage if he can keep the fight on the feet.
Patricio Pitbull was the second ever simultaneous double champ in Bellator before making his way over to the biggest promotion in MMA in 2025.
He was thrown right in the deep end when he lost to Yair Rodriguez when making his debut in the UFC but bounced back with a win over Dan Ige.
All three of his fights in the UFC have gone the distance including his loss to Aaron Pico in April.
South Korean Doo Ho-choi can effectively end the career of his opponent with a win and he comes in having failed to be beaten in his last four fights.
This includes back to back TKO wins and his first in 18 months just three months ago in Las Vegas.
Although Pitbull’s UFC career hasn’t gone to plan thus far he is a really well rounded and experienced fighter and I believe the bookies have got these odds wrong.
There is always one fight on the main card that can not be missed and this promises to have fireworks.
Alonzo Menifield is the number 13 ranked UFC light heavyweight thanks to three wins in his last four fights including a first round knockout win over Zhang Mingyang in China in May.
He is an absolute brute of a man who is capable of separating his opponent from his consciousness in a split second.
Iwo Baraniewski is a 27 year old from Poland who is undefeated in nine professional MMA fights.
He won a UFC contract through DWCS in September 2025 and has won all three of his UFC fights by first round knockout since.
It’s hard to not envision a world where this fight ends in the first round but oftentimes when that is the case, fighters can feel each other out.
Especially a guy like Baraniewski who is facing his biggest challenge to date.
Chito Vera made his UFC debut way back in 2014 at UFC 180 when Mark Hunt took on Fabricio Werdum in Mexico.
He’s just 33 years of age but comes into this fight with just the one win from his last six fights.
Charles Jourdain is a 30 year old Canadian who has a record of 18 wins and eight losses during his pro MMA career with one draw.
Back to back losses against Sean Woodson and Jean Silva put a halt to his career but he enters this fight on a three fight win streak including two submissions.
He faces a very capable grappler in the shape of Chito Vera and I can see this fight taking place mainly on the feet and in a close striker battle I’m willing to back the underdog.