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Pros react to Joshua Van defeating Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331: "Horrible judging"

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3 weeks ago

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Pros react to Joshua Van defeating Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331: "Horrible judging"
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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:

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

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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MMA

Josh Hokit rips Alexander Volkov, teases move to light heavyweight

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1 hour ago

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October 10, 2026

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Josh Hokit rips Alexander Volkov, teases move to light heavyweight
Josh
Hokit believes Alexander
Volkov will never get a chance to fight him.

Hokit (10-0) is scheduled to challenge Ciryl Gane
(14-2, one no contest) for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title at UFC
334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Volkov has
criticized Hokit since the title fight was announced, and the
American has responded.

Josh Hokit says Alexander Volkov will never get his chance,
mocks heavyweight résumé

Volkov considers Hokit an easy matchup and predicts that Gane will
defeat the unbeaten contender. In response, Hokit compared their
records, noting that he defeated Derrick
Lewis and Curtis
Blaydes, both of whom beat Volkov.

“Drago†has won consecutive decisions over Jailton
Almeida and Waldo
Cortes-Acosta and is scheduled to face Rizvan
Kuniev at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. Hokit added that Blaydes
defeated both Almeida and Kuniev. “The Incredible Hok†claims he
will already be dominating the light heavyweight division by the
time Volkov earns a fight with him.

“Volkov saying he'd beat me easy is funny… He'll never get the
chance,†Hokit wrote on X. “I just beat Blaydes and Lewis. Volkov
lost to BOTH. Now he's fighting Kuniev (who Blaydes beat), after
squeaking by Almeida (who Blaydes dominated). I’m going to kill
Ciryl, who he lost to twice. Zero finishes, pure boring. By the
time you earn a fight with me, I'll already be dominating LH.â€

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MMA

Colby Covington drags Daniel Cormier into ugly Jon Jones feud

Published

19 hours ago

on

October 9, 2026

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Colby Covington drags Daniel Cormier into ugly Jon Jones feud
Colby
Covington has brought Daniel
Cormier into his latest feud with Jon Jones.

Jones' protégé, Gable
Steveson, was knocked out by Sean Sharaf
in a major upset at UFC
331 in September in Los Angeles. Covington subsequently blamed
Jones' “bad energy†for Steveson's loss. Jones responded by saying
that Covington, his former college roommate, hasn't achieved even a
fraction of what he has in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Colby Covington tells Gable Steveson to leave Jon Jones for
Daniel Cormier

Covington responded by citing domestic abuse allegations against
Jones. “Chaos†said Jones' professional achievements don't excuse
his alleged conduct outside the cage. The former interim
welterweight champion then suggested that Steveson train with
Daniel
Cormier, Jones' longtime rival.

“The things I say only bother you because they're true,†Covington
wrote on X. “You're a narcissistic abusive sociopath. Your
achievements inside the Octagon don't make you a better person
outside of it. Those same achievements definitely don’t give you
the right to abuse women either, Jon. At the end of the day, I feel
for Gable being in this situation… It's too bad he can't take
punches from heavyweights as well as your wife does. If Gable
really cares about advancing in his career, he should leave you and
go train with a real man like Daniel Cormier.â€

Jones and Cormier's heated rivalry has continued since their
fighting careers ended. Jones defeated Cormier in their first UFC
bout, but his knockout victory in their rematch was overturned to a
no contest after “Bones†failed a drug test. Years after retiring,
“DC†has said he has no interest in reconciling with Jones.

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MMA

Mikey Musumeci vacates UFC BJJ title to ‘prioritize my training for MMA’

Published

21 hours ago

on

October 9, 2026

By

Mikey Musumeci vacates UFC BJJ title to ‘prioritize my training for MMA’

Mikey Musumeci is no longer the UFC BJJ bantamweight champion, and he vacates the belt to focus on a potential transition to mixed martial arts in the future.

A former grappling champion in ONE Championship and four-time IBJJF world champion as a black belt, Musumeci was victorious in four title matches in UFC BJJ — all by submission — before entering the bowl this past September to win a decision over UFC bantamweight Bryce Mitchell.

“I am 30 years old and have been obsessed with training MMA and want to prioritize my training for MMA,†Musumeci wrote on a statement. “I train jiu-jitsu everyday still and can come back anytime.â€

That doesn't mean Musumeci will no longer compete in grappling and in UFC BJJ. He plans on continuing to do so, but without having to defend a title and possibly stalling the weight class as he pursues a new goal in MMA.

“I will continue to do more grappling super fights with UFC BJJ, just a different style of jiu-jitsu more to get people out of our sport to watch,†Musumeci wrote. “That means more to me at the point I am in my career. I want to thank everyone that has supported me and Claudia Gadelha and Hunter for how kind they have been with me and continue to be. Excited about my next chapter. SO MANY CRAZY THINGS AHEAD.â€

The now vacant UFC BJJ bantamweight title will be up for grabs in the main event of UFC BJJ 13 on Oct. 29, when Jalen Fonacier battles Kleber Barboza.

Check Musumeci's full statement below.

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