Alexandre
Pantoja and Joshua Van
both claim to have tricks up their sleeves for their rematch.

Pantoja (30-6) will look to reclaim the
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight title from Van (17-2)
in their rematch at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Both
125-pounders have identified holes in each other's games that
they're looking to exploit.

Alexandre Pantoja’s coach breaks down their UFC 331 flyweight
title rematch

Pantoja's muay thai coach at
American Top Team, Anderson Franca, says the Brazilian has some
surprises in store for his Octagon return. He believes Van will try
to keep the fight standing as he will be concerned about Pantoja's
ground game. However, Franca claims Pantoja can surprise Van on the
feet as well and predicts a precise fourth-round finish.

“Van's fight with Taira gave us a lot of elements to study in terms
of how he might approach this fight,†Franca told Sherdog. “We have
Plan A and Plan B. We're bringing some surprises. Pantoja is
extremely motivated and our expectations couldn't be better. This
was a particularly good training camp. Parrumpa really pushed his
conditioning so he would be able to go hard for all five rounds if
necessary. I believe Joshua Van will want to keep the fight
standing and emphasize his boxing. I think he'll be concerned about
Pantoja's grappling, but Pantoja can surprise him on the feet as
well. Still, I believe Pantoja will get the finish in the fourth
round.â€

Joshua Van explains the opening he plans to exploit against
Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331

Meanwhile, Van says he’s noticed a chink in Pantoja's armor that he
plans to exploit. He also says he isn't worried about the former
champ's grappling and even believes he could slip in a sneaky
submission. The 24-year-old champ plans to finish Pantoja within
three rounds.

“We work on defending that position, but maybe I'll be the one who
gets him in the rear-naked choke,†Van told Full Send MMA. “I
showed with Taira I'm not scared of the ground; I'll look for a sub
if it's there. We've studied him and seen a little hole that he has
in his game that we are gonna capitalize on. There's a couple of
things I can't speak on, but it's going to be done within three
rounds.â€

American Top Team muay thai coach Anderson Franca believes
Arman
Tsarukyan presents a tricky stylistic challenge for Mauricio
Ruffy.

Tsarukyan will meet Ruffy in the co-main event of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship's upcoming event in Los Angeles.
Franca, who has previously cornered Tsarukyan, won't be in the
Armenian's corner at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena, but was instrumental in
creating the game plan.

Anderson França breaks down Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy
at UFC 331

In a recent interview with Sherdog, Franca broke down the Tsarukyan
vs. Ruffy matchup. The coach revealed changes Tsarukyan has made to
his camp in preparation for Ruffy, who he considers the best
striker in the 155-pound division.

“Arman always trains with me when he has his camp at ATT, but for
this particular camp he brought Petrosyan, who is a high-level
fighter who competed in K-1,†Franca told Sherdog. “Arman is an
athlete who never gives up and is willing to die in the ring.
Mauricio Ruffy, on the other hand, is a sniper, without a doubt the
best striker in the lightweight division.â€

Franca said he was specifically asked to help Tsarukyan prepare for
Ruffy’s striking after the matchup was finalized.

“As soon as the fight was booked, Parrumpa asked me to help him
study Ruffy's game so I could help him during camp,†Franca said.
“Arman has to be extremely focused because you can't make mistakes
against Ruffy. On the other hand, Arman is the worst stylistic
matchup for Ruffy and he also has an extremely high fight IQ. I
would say this fight is 60-40 in favor of [Tsarukyan].â€

MMA veteran Nate Diaz has teased Ilia Topuria in the wake of the latter's loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250.

It's been well documented that Ilia Topuria is no longer the UFC lightweight champion. He lost the belt to Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC Freedom 250, and ever since then, there's been a great deal of speculation regarding his future in the promotion.

RELATED: Ilia Topuria's coach shuts down imminent UFC comeback despite Dana White's claims

Ilia Topuria is more than good enough to still mix it up with the very best at 155 pounds and perhaps even win the belt back, but an immediate rematch has been called into question by most fans and pundits ever since it was first suggested.

In a recent interview, Nate Diaz became the latest fighter to mock Topuria following his defeat.

Diaz's view on Ilia Topuria's UFC Freedom 250 loss

“I don't really give a f*ck about what they do, but Ilia is lame as f*ck,†Diaz told MMA Junkie at the Ki MMA launch event Monday. “He's a punching bag. He called me a punching bag, he's a f*cking punching bag. He got his ass whooped, and they made a big deal out of him just like they did out of Conor (McGregor) when he started coming (up), getting an early pump up before you've been in a real fight. So, that's what happened to him when he got into a real fight with Justin Gaethje. Now look at you.â€

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Nate is the kind of guy who will face just about anyone in the combat sports space, but in terms of his future, it's pretty much anyone's guess as to what he will end up doing.

What do you believe the future holds for Ilia Topuria in the Ultimate Fighting Championship? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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