Van outboxes Pantoja over five rounds to seal second flyweight title defence at UFC 311

Joshua Van retained the UFC flyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Alexandre Pantoja in the UFC 311 main event, with all three judges scoring the contest in his favour — 49-46, 49-46 and a dominant 50-45. The result marks the 24-year-old’s second successful title defence, following his earlier win over Tatsuro Taira.

Pantoja made his intentions clear from the opening seconds, shooting for a takedown and advancing to mount before flattening Van out in search of a submission. Van, however, showed the composure that has defined his brief but explosive championship run, exploding off the bottom and working back to his feet to reset the fight on his own terms.

The pattern held across all five rounds. Pantoja repeatedly dragged the fight to the mat, but Van’s reversals were sharp and his ability to avoid danger on the ground frustrated the Brazilian at every turn. Whenever the fight returned to the feet, Van’s hand speed and combination punching created a clear separation, with his more methodical striking approach consistently outscoring Pantoja’s wilder exchanges.

The clearest moment of the night came in the fifth round, when Van snapped off a sharp combination that sent Pantoja crashing to the canvas. Van followed up immediately, hammering away in search of a stoppage, but Pantoja — as he had done throughout — refused to yield and survived to the final horn.

“Don’t let your circumstance determine your life,” Van said after the result was announced. “Doubt me now.”

He also paid tribute to his opponent’s resilience. “Shout out to Pantoja. He’s a tough motherf*cker. I did my submission and I don’t know how he got out of that shit. He’s just that good.”

The scorecards left little room for debate. Van’s boxing, footwork and positional awareness proved the decisive factors across 25 minutes of sustained pressure, cementing his status as the division’s standout fighter heading into 2025.