Patricio
“Pitbull†Freire delivered a statement win in a bid to extend
his stay in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Freire took on Doo Ho Choi
(17-5) in a featherweight tilt at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. This being
the last fight of his contract, Freire repeatedly stated his desire
to continue fighting in the UFC and promised to put on a
performance worthy of a contract renewal.

Patricio Freire knocks out Doo Ho Choi at UFC 331 before
calling out Jean Silva

Freire backed up his promise, dropping Choi with a monstrous right
hand to earn a first-round finish. Having had a lukewarm UFC career
before UFC 331, the former Bellator
champ apologized to fans and called out Jean Silva,
who is known for barking at his opponents, to determine the bigger
dog amongst the two.

“I'm sorry about my last three fights,†Freire said in his
post-fight interview. “I feel that [UFC 331] was my debut. I don't
know what happened to me. But I'm so happy… The pressure here is
bigger [than Bellator]. But now I feel comfortable… Jean Silva,
let's see who is the dog.â€

Freire (38-9) previously lost to Yair
Rodriguez and Aaron Pico
in the UFC, while edging a lackluster unanimous decision against
Dan
Ige. Meanwhile, Silva (18-3) has finished five of his six UFC
wins, while only losing to two-time title challenger Diego
Lopes. “Lord†beat Jose
Delgado at
Noche UFC 4 earlier this month.

Jon
Jones had a clear view of one of the biggest upsets in
Ultimate Fighting Championship history.

His protégé, Gable
Steveson, suffered the first loss of his professional mixed
martial arts career at UFC
331, with Sean Sharaf
recording a 12-second knockout at Crypto.com Arena in Los
Angeles.

Sean Sharaf hands Gable Steveson his first MMA loss in stunning
UFC 331 upset

Heavy betting favorite Steveson entered the matchup unbeaten at
4-0, while Sharaf was 0-2 in the UFC. The latter uncorked a left
hook early in the fight, putting the former to sleep. Steveson's
mentor, Jones, watched on and his reaction to the knockout is
circulating online.

The former two-division UFC champion seemingly said, “Oh, my God!â€
while looking at his fellow cornermen.

Steveson dismissed Sharaf as a threat in the lead-up to the fight,
relegating him to just a stepping stone towards his championship
aspirations. “The Smoke†even provoked the polarizing Olympian at
the pre-fight presser, bringing up past controversies that have
turned many against him.

Jon Jones
reaction pic.twitter.com/d0G1EwhLkK

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist)
September 20, 2026

Tonight's UFC 331 event was headlined by a highly anticipated men's flyweight title fight rematch between Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja.

Van and Pantoja had originally collided back at UFC 323 in December of last year, where ‘The Fearless' walked away with the promotion's coveted men's flyweight title after ‘The Cannibal' suffered a nasty arm injury the rendered him unable to continue (see that here).

Joshua Van (17-2 MMA) had since successfully defended the 125lbs strap on one occasion, earning a fifth-round TKO victory over Japanese standout Tatsuro Taira. The 24-year-old had entered tonight's rematch sporting a seven-fight winning streak.

Meanwhile, Alexandre Pantoja (30-6 MMA) was returning to the Octagon for the first time since suffering that aforementioned arm injury against Van at UFC 323. Prior to that setback, ‘The Cannibal' had strung together a seven-fight winning streak, an impressive stretch which included four successful title defenses over opponents Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, Kai Asakura and Kai Kara-France.

Tonight's UFC 331 main event proved to be an absolute thriller. Alexandre Pantoja came out guns blazing, but Joshua Van was able to weather the early onslaught and get his boxing going shortly thereafter. While Pantoja was able to get the fight to the floor in dominant positions on multiple occasions, he was never able to get off any really solid offense from those spots. The fight seemed to be razor close heading into the fifth and final round, but it was in those last five minutes that Van cemented his status as champion. He was able to drop the Brazilian with a right hand and pretty much controlled the entire fifth round.

Official UFC 331 Results: Joshua Van def. Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision (49–46, 49–47, 50–45)

Check out how the pros reacted to ‘Van vs. Pantoja 2' below:

This will be Pantoja’s 7th UFC title fight.

TUF fighters with the most title fights:

Kamaru Usman: 8
T.J. Dillashaw: 8#UFC331

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 20, 2026

UFC MAIN EVENT… It's a pick'em fight so just sit back and watch the two best FlyWeights throw down.
I'm more excited for their 2nd fight than I was for their first fight. Sit back and enjoy!

— Josh Thomson (@THEREALPUNK) September 20, 2026

Fight looks like it's on 2x speed #UFC331

— Arnold billy allen (@Arnoldbfa) September 20, 2026

That was a super close round

I have it 10-9 Pantoja by the absolute slimmest of margins

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 20, 2026

This is some gorgeous stuff. Those clinched to take downs and then the sprawls. High-level.

— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) September 20, 2026

Van is starting to heat up going into this third round

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) September 20, 2026

This is a very good fight #UFC331

— Arnold billy allen (@Arnoldbfa) September 20, 2026

How they keeping this pace, madness #ufc331

— Arnold billy allen (@Arnoldbfa) September 20, 2026

Van's takedown defense has looked great and that will be the biggest difference going into the championship rounds

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) September 20, 2026

Man. This is a good one! Van is a step ahead and Pantoga is relentless.

— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) September 20, 2026

Pantoja able to play back into his game. 2-2 going into the final round

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) September 20, 2026

I have it 10-9 Pantoja, although I do feel that should have been stood up. Pantoja barely landed anything on the ground.

I have it 38-38 heading into the final round. Big stakes right here.

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 20, 2026

2-2 going into the 5th. I wanna see a 3rd fight already haha

— Josh Thomson (@THEREALPUNK) September 20, 2026

Post-fight reactions to Joshua Van defeating Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331:

50-45…… horrible judging.

— Cody Durden (@Cody_Durden) September 20, 2026

Looks like they put a food deliver driver to fight against Van

— Paulo Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA) September 20, 2026

50-45 is crazy but that was a great fight van vs kape is gonna be all hands

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) September 20, 2026

Watching fight Great fights pic.twitter.com/ssZpazIB19

— Paulo Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA) September 20, 2026

What a fight, What a card, What a fucking sport #UFC331

— Arnold billy allen (@Arnoldbfa) September 20, 2026

Who would you like to see Van fight next following his decision victory over Pantoja this evening in Los Angeles? Share your thoughts in the comment section Penn Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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