Alexandre Pantoja tried every part in his arsenal to dethrone Joshua Van earlier tonight at UFC 331 and take again the UFC flyweight strap. However Van was no straightforward recreation, and that’s confirmed.
Struggle recap
In Spherical 1, Alexandre Pantoja scored a takedown and waited for Van to make a mistake on the bottom. Nonetheless, “The Fearless” managed to reverse place however couldn’t capitalize. After that, each fighters brawled nonstop till Pantoja scored one other takedown simply earlier than the primary spherical completed.
Spherical 2 was one other shut affair, however Van proved to be the extra correct fighter, and his boxing was on one other degree tonight. The 24-year-old landed jabs, calf kicks, and physique pictures to disrupt Pantoja’s rhythm. Towards the tip of the spherical, the Brazilian lastly scored one other takedown and took Van’s again however didn’t have sufficient time to sink in a rear-naked choke.
In Spherical 3, Pantoja desperately tried to take the struggle to the bottom, however Van confirmed unimaginable takedown protection. Though the previous champ managed to take him down as soon as, Van rapidly bought again to his ft and continued touchdown clear mixtures.
In Spherical 4, Pantoja took Van down and racked up vital ground-control time however couldn’t safe a submission as “The Fearless” went into full defensive mode to outlive.
Within the last spherical, Alexandre Pantoja started mixing in additional leg assaults. The 36-year-old consistently circled the octagon and refused to present Van a transparent angle.
Nonetheless, Joshua Van finally managed to drop Pantoja after which tried to safe a submission. When the champ failed to complete the struggle on the bottom, each fighters returned to their ft and battled it out till the ultimate bell.
Official decison: Joshua Van defeated Alexandre Pantoja by way of unanimous decison (49-46, 49-47, 50-45) at UFC 331.
UFC 331: Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja – Highlights
