MMA

Alexandre Pantoja gives update on return: ‘I have unfinished business with Joshua Van’

Published

3 weeks ago

July 19, 2026

Alexandre Pantoja gives update on return: ‘I have unfinished business with Joshua Van’

Alexandre Pantoja is all healed up and ready to settle the score with Joshua Van.

In December, Pantoja defended his flyweight title against Van in the co-main event of UFC 323, but was beset by disaster when he injured his arm trying to roll away after Van caught a kick just seconds into the bout. Since then, Pantoja has been out of action while he recovers, while Van successfully defended his new title in May with a fifth-round stoppage over Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328.

But now, Pantoja is fit and ready to get back to it.

â€œI'm ready,â€ Pantoja told MMA Fighting. â€œAfter December, what happened to my arm, two days after that, I went to the gym, started training with just one arm. That's who I am. I'm not done. I'm not done. I have so much to conquer. I have so much to prove. And when you have the belt, your words [mean more]. I want to take the belt again. I want to be UFC champion one more time and keep talking to good things, about the world and things I saw in my life, make people happy. That's what I want.â€

As mentioned, while Pantoja's been out, Van has already added a title defense to his rÃ©sumÃ©, and other flyweight contenders have been busy as well, with Manel Kape knocking out Kyoji Horiguchi, and Brandon Royval psetting Lone'er Kavanagh. For Pantoja, the continued growth of the division in his absence has been great for him, too.

â€œReal good fight. Real good fight,â€ Pantoja said of Van's win over Taira. â€œShowed a lot of high-level skills. Don't get me wrong, on the same night, you have the Chimaev and Strickland fight, you see the difference about the pace, about the high-level. That's good to prove to everybody the flyweight division is one of the more entertaining divisions in the UFC.

â€œYou see Manel Kape with Kyoji Horiguchi. You see Brandon Royval, all these guys put on very good show to everybody, and I think right now, flyweight is better than ever. I think what happened with me last year made the division more fire. Now I have the opportunity to take over and [beat] everybody again.â€

Pantoja was particularly impressed by Kape's win over Horiguchi at UFC Vegas 119 last month. After the win, Kape lobbied for his shot at the flyweight title, but Pantoja says he's up first. Then he and Kape can run things back.

â€œBeautiful performance,â€ Pantoja said. â€œI think Kyoji Horiguchi gets very close to winning the fight, but Manel is the real deal. Manel Kape, for me, is one of the most dangerous fights in the world in flyweight. He's the next contender.

â€œOf course, I have unfinished business with Joshua Van. Like, as an athlete, I know I lost the fight. That happened. But like a man, I don't think he beat me. I'm still here. I'm ready to fight. I'm in amazing shape. Let's see what happens next.â€

MMA

RAF 13 adds matchup between Luke Rockhold and Joe Pyfer

Published

11 hours ago

August 9, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

RAF 13 adds matchup between Luke Rockhold and Joe Pyfer

Luke Rockhold returns to the Real American Freestyle mats next month.

On Sunday, RAF announced that Rockhold will face current top-15 middleweight Joe Pyfer in a catchweight bout at RAF 13 on Sep. 19 at Watsco Center in Miami.

A former UFC middleweight champion, Rockhold made his RAF debut at RAF 5 in January, where he lost by tech fall to Colby Covington. Rockhold does not have a significant wrestling background, though he did wrestle in high school and at community college before transitioning to grappling and MMA. Rockhold retired from MMA in 2022 and has spent the past several years trying his hand in various other combat sports.

Currently ranked No. 9 in MMA Fighting's Global middleweight rankings, Pyfer has a similar wrestling background to Rockhold, having mostly participated in the sport in high school, though he also has some experience in professional grappling events. Most recently, Pyfer knocked out former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC Seattle in March. This will be Pyfer's first match in RAF.

RAF 13 is supposed to be headlined by a cruiserweight crossover championship grudge match between Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad.

MMA

Tommy McMillen battles fellow undefeated prospect at Noche UFC

Published

12 hours ago

August 9, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Tommy McMillen battles fellow undefeated prospect at Noche UFC

Tommy McMillen is getting his wish, but is now set for his toughest test to date.

McMillen, the longtime teammate and protÃ©gÃ© of former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley, faces Marwan Rahiki at the promotion's annual Noche UFC card on Sept. 12 in Glendale, Ariz. UFC's broadcast partner Paramount+ announced the bout on social media.

The 28-year-old McMillen called for a spot on the card in his home state following a record-setting performance in stopping Alberto Montes at UFC Oklahoma City in July. After earning a contract on the Contender Series this past September, â€œGunâ€ had a successful debut with a first-round finish of Manolo Zecchini at April's UFC Vegas 115 card.

Rahiki has entered fans' radars with a very aggressive finishing style inside the octagon. The 24-year-old has a pair of stoppage wins over Harry Hardwick and Ollie Schmid to kick off his octagon career.

Noche UFC is headlined by Jean Silva vs. Yair Rodriguez in a featherweight showdown.

MMA

Quillan Salkilld details potential injury following submission finish over Mateusz Gamrot: "I actually felt it"

Published

16 hours ago

August 9, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Quillan Salkilld details potential injury following submission finish over Mateusz Gamrot: "I actually felt it"

Zuffa LLC

Quillan Salkilld delivered an emphatic first-round finish at UFC Vegas 120, but he may not have walked away unscathed.

Salkilld met his biggest name to date in Mateusz Gamrot this past Saturday. The Contender Series alum delivered by securing a first-round submission finish via rear-naked choke. The 26-year-old is on a fast track towards top five competition, as Gamrot was the No. 6-ranked lightweight on the Meta rankings panel entering the bout.

While Salkilld has raised his stock significantly, he'll be hoping to avoid time on the shelf amid a possible injury. Salkilld appeared on the UFC Vegas 120 post-show on Paramount+, and he recalled the moment he might've been injured (via MMAFighting).

â€œThere was a wrestling exchange at the start where he grabbed my ankle,â€ Salkilld said. â€œIf it was training, I would have kind of gone with it to not hurt the knee. He had my ankle and it turned to like 90 degrees. Because I was being stubborn in that position, I didn't want to accept any bad position. I turned into it and forced it. Usually I didn't want to do that because I'm always scared about hurting my knee in training.

â€œThis one, I just went into it and heard a little pop. Even when I had that rear-naked choke, I actually felt it. I was like f*ck, if I don't get this, my knee's going to be sore later. In round two or three, it would have been [sore]. It's a bit sore now.â€

Salkilld has been perfect ever since suffering a submission loss in his first pro MMA bout in early 2021. In addition to his 13-fight winning streak, Salkilld has finished his last four fights in the opening round. That includes a nasty head kick knockout over Nasrat Haqparast.

If Quillan Salkilld can avoid being sidelined, who should he fight next? Drop your opinion in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM