Pantoja declares full recovery and targets UFC flyweight title rematch against Van at UFC 331

Alexandre Pantoja has declared himself fully fit and ready to reclaim the UFC flyweight title from Joshua Van in a rematch scheduled for UFC 331 in Los Angeles on September 19.

Pantoja entered their first meeting in December as a heavy favourite but suffered an elbow injury after his head-kick was caught by Van, forcing an anticlimactic end to the bout. The Brazilian says he was back in the gym just two days after the fight, channelling the setback into motivation throughout his rehabilitation.

“The first 20 minutes after my injury are the worst,” Pantoja said. “But after that I realized what opportunity I have. I know in the second after that I need to recover. I don’t have time to lose. Two days after my injury, after my fight, I’m back to the gym. I’m starting to make a physiotherapy; I start to lift it with just one arm and this gives me a lot of motivation.”

Far from dismissing Van as a paper champion, Pantoja has been open in acknowledging the legitimacy of his rival’s reign. Van has since defended the belt convincingly against Tatsuro Taira, and the former champion says that title defence only raises the stakes of their rematch.

“I like to see he got a title defense before we fight because this makes it more real,” Pantoja said. “He’s the champion of the world now. It’s for real.”

The rematch sets up one of the more compelling storylines in the flyweight division in recent memory. Pantoja held the title before their first encounter and arrives at UFC 331 with unfinished business, while Van will look to prove his December victory was no fluke against a fully healthy version of one of the division’s best.