Los Angeles produces new Stars in the UFC

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles would be the perfect place to solidify two new superstars in UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van and lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan.

The main event of UFC 331 would see champion Joshua Van (18-2-0) defeat No. 1 Alexandre Pantoja (30-7-0) via unanimous decision at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. The fight would be named Fight of the Night.

At just 24 years of age, Van has become the undisputed superstar of the UFC flyweight division as well as one of the biggest rising stars of the UFC.

In the buildup to fight week a lot was made of the flyweights headlining a UFC numbered event especially in Los Angeles. But after Van’s performance, we could see why the flyweights were in full display in Hollywood.

Arman Tsarukyan also solidified himself as a bona fide UFC superstar with his stellar performance in the co-main event. Tsarukyan all week was a fan favorite here in Los Angeles all culminating with his first-round knockout of Mauricio Ruffy.

Without a doubt Tsarukyan is next in line for UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje.

UFC CEO would announce the official attendance as 19,357, a sellout.

The announced gate was $8.3 million, highest arena gate in Crypto.com Arena history.

When I asked UFC CEO about how Los Angeles has helped grow the popularity of the sport here is what he had to say:

“Not just Los Angeles but Southern California, the way that UFC has felt is Southern Cal, I felt that way in 2001. Everybody (back then) knew who all the fighters were. When we did the first fight in Vegas, most of the people who were in Mandalay Bay Arena that night was from Southern California. Southern California not just the fans but the schools were everywhere. People were training jiu-jitsu here long before it was cool. Yeah, it’s been important.”

Alexandre Pantoja landed a takedown in the first 20 seconds of the first round. Pantoja would spend the next several minutes in full mount. But Van would burst and get up and then would end up in full mount on Pantoja.

With two minutes left in the first round, both competitors would trade significant strikes. Pantoja would land knees to the body, while Van would land his signature combinations to cap off a very entertaining first round.

The second round started with Pantoja as the aggressor. However, the action would come to a halt due to an accidental headbutt from Van. Pantoja was infuriated by the headbutt claiming it was intentional.

The second round would resume with a stand-up battle between the two. Pantoja would land several kicks to the body of Van. While Van would land several jabs and body shots of his own. The round would end with Pantoja almost sealing a rear-naked choke.

In the third round Pantoja would shoot for the takedown several times but wasn’t successful. In the second round Van would get saved by the bell after a rear-naked-choke attempt for Pantoja. While round three would end with Van landing some serious combinations with the bell saving Pantoja.

Round 4 would be less eventful to the Los Angeles crowd as Pantoja took control of the fight on the ground. Pantoja’s prior championship experience really played a factor here as this was just the second time Van went into the fourth round in his career. With the other coming in his last fight against Tatsuro Taira.

The fifth round saw Van do what he did in his previous fight, landing lots of combinations.

Van would finally get the knockdown he was looking for. After eating so much damage Pantoja went down but would not get finished.

The fight ended and went to the judges' scorecards.

Van would win via unanimous decision: 49-46, 49-47, 50-45.

Van at just 24 years of age has cemented himself as the superstar of the flyweight division with many saying that the flyweight division is as popular as it has ever been.

Arman Tsarukyan (24-3-0) lands a pair of takedowns but nothing bigger than two elbows in the clinch to knock out Mauricio Ruffy (14-3-0) at the 4:56 mark of round one.

It was the first elbow from Tsarukyan that secured the knockout, but Arman would hold up Ruffy to land a second elbow.

A lot of the questions surrounding Arman coming into this fight was how serious he was taking Ruffy. Arman famously had famous streamer Adin Ross as one of his coaches.

Arman also hadn’t fought since late last year.

When I asked him during media day if his long layoff would be a factor, Arman responded with the following:

“No, because I’ve had like 15 fights in freestyle wrestling at RAF.”

Arman was scheduled to fight for the UFC lightweight championship against then-champion Islam Makhachev back in January of 2025 here in Los Angeles. But a back injury after the weight cut would force Tsarukyan to pull out of the fight.

UFC CEO Dana White famously said that the UFC didn’t “trust” Tsarukyan in big fights, especially championship fights.

After Saturday night, that will obviously change.

Justin Gaethje is currently the UFC lightweight champion after defeating Ilia Topuria at the UFC Freedom 250 card at the White House back in June.

The knockout came within the final five seconds as the LA crowd erupted in support of their hero.

Tsarukyan solidifies himself as the true No. 1 contender in the lightweight division.

Tsarukyan also solidifies himself as the premium UFC star claiming Los Angeles as his home.

No. 15 Patricio Freire (38-9-0) defeated Dooho Choi (17-5-1) via TKO in the first round. Pitbull would land a series of combinations and then would knock down Choi.

This was by far the most impressive performance in Pitbull’s UFC career. Entering Saturday, Pitbull was 1-2 in the UFC; he’s now 2-2.

Choi sees his three-fight win streak snapped.

Sean Sharaf (5-2-0) was a plus-1100 underdog in his fight against 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson (4-1-0). It took Sharaf only 12 seconds to knock out Steveson. This might go down as the biggest upset in the history of the UFC heavyweight division.

Gable Steveson threw a leg kick and then Sharaf responded with a picture-perfect left hook. The Los Angeles crowd was in much delight after the knockout as Gable was the biggest villain of the card.

Sean Sharaf is a former United States Marine and is from Santa Ana, California. He was no doubt the biggest fan favorite after his performance.

Sharaf made a name for himself here in Southern California fighting for regional promotions like King of the Cage.

Sharaf now cements himself into the conversation in the UFC heavyweight division.

No. 14 Alonzo Menifield (19-6-1) defeated Iwo Baraniewski (9-1-0) via split decision: 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.

Perhaps the highlight of this fight came during the postfight interview when Menifield showed the camera a gruesome injury to his left thumb. Viewer discretion is advised should you seek to see the image.

Iwo Baraniewski would land some serious punches in the first round, including a left hand right down the middle. Immediately Iwo would shoot and land a takedown. Menifield would find his way back to his feet, but Iwo would continue to land open shots.

Menifield started off the second round swinging, landing shots on Iwo. Menifield responded well after eating several shots in the first round. However, Iwo would land some shots of his own.

Prior to the start of the third round, a doctor would examine the left hand of Alonzo Menifield. On the scoreboard there was a close-up and Menifield’s left hand was severely bloody.

The third round certainly wasn’t as momentous as the first two. The majority of the round was spent in the clinch.

Menifield has now won two fights in a row, four of his last five.

This is the first professional loss in the career of Iwo Baraniewski.

No. 10 Marlon Vera (24-12-1) defeated Charles Jourdain (18-9-1) via TKO at the 2:02 minute mark of round three.

In the first round Vera would land two trips by grabbing at the foot of Jourdain. But in both instances Jourdain would make it back to his feet. Vera would end the round with a series of combinations.

Vera landed a big uppercut in the second round that would knock down Jourdain. Round 2 would see the experience of Vera play out with Vera landing huge shots with Jourdain on the floor.

Vera would score a second knockdown in the final seconds after a left hook to the body followed by a knee. It was all Vera in the second.

In the third Vera would continue his onslaught of shots. Vera would land a vicious elbow; Jourdain would throw a left leg kick but suffered an injury in the process. Jourdain would go down and throw up the X to signify to the official to stop the fight.

Marlon Vera snaps a four-fight losing streak.

Vera now ties Aljamain Sterling for the most wins in the UFC bantamweight division with 14.

His 14 knockdowns are now also the most in the division’s history, surpassing Montel Jackson.

Robelis Despaigne (6-2-0) defeated Tai Tuivasa (15-11-0) via split decision: 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.

Tai Tuivasa and Robelis Despaigne had the most intense first round of the night. Absolute fireworks as both landed some serious punches. Despaigne would land a knockdown on Tuivasa, but after Tuivasa got up, he would land a takedown. Tuivasa would finish the round on top.

Despaigne certainly found respect in Tuivasa’s power as he landed a takedown and would hold position on the ground. Referee Jason Herzog would stand up the two, but Despaigne immediately would grab a clinch.

The third round saw Despaigne take control with his grappling and limit Tuivasa.

Despaigne snaps a two-fight skid while this marks Tuivasa’s eighth loss in a row.

Michael Aswell Jr. (12-5-0) defeated JooSang Yoo (9-2-0) via split decision: 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 in the UFC featherweight division.

Michael Aswell Jr. would land significant right hands, including one over the top that would’ve knocked down any other fighter. But JooSang Yoo would land some combinations of his own, including a spinning wheel kick. A very fast-paced first round.

Yoo in the second round would evade the big right hands from Aswell Jr. by landing some of his own rights. Aswell Jr. wouldn’t have the same pop in his punches as he did in the first round.

In round three Yoo would secure the first takedown of the fight. In the final seconds it would get back to the feet and the fight ended with both competitors trading shots back and forth.

This was a big win for Aswell Jr. as his second UFC win snaps a two-fight losing streak. Aswell Jr. is now 2-3 in the UFC. Joe Rogan would call it the best performance of his career.

Ryan Gandra (11-1-0) wasted no time in the first round against Ozzy Diaz (10-5-0). Gandra would throw combination after combination until a right hand knocked down Diaz. Then it was all academic as Gandra would land multiple strikes on the ground.

The fight would only last two minutes and four seconds.

Gandra is quickly emerging as a must-watch fighter as all three of his UFC fights have ended with a first-round knockout; overall, it’s his 10th win in a row.

Edman Shahbazyan (17-6-0) would secure a unanimous decision win over Brunno Ferreira (15-5-0) in the UFC middleweight division.

"Edman" chants to start round 1 and lots of boos for Ferreira. Shahbazyan would land a couple of left jabs and a left hook in the final seconds of the round. More of a feel-out round.

Shahbazyan would continue to land jabs in the second round, but Brunno Ferreira would get a lot more comfortable trading punches in the middle of the Octagon. A late eye-poke from Shahbazyan would bring the eye doctor to check on Ferreira, but the fight would move on to round 3. Shahbazyan threw a leg kick in the middle of round 2 and had a noticeable limp.

Ferreira would start round three with a lot more confidence, throwing a series of combinations that would land.

In the final 20 seconds of the third round Shahbazyan would score a knockdown on the left jab that was connecting all night. Then in the final seconds, Shahbazyan would again land another knockdown.

The judges would score the fight 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of Edman Shahbazyan.

Shahbazyan avenges a loss from June against Brendan Allen to win his fourth fight of his last five.

No. 12 Casey O’Neill (12-2-0) had quite the comeback against No. 13 Eduarda Moura (12-3-0) in the women’s flyweight division. Moura nearly had a finish with a choke, but O’Neill would bounce back with an armbar finish of her own at 3:22 of round one.

The armbar could end up as the submission of the year with the crowd at Crypto.com Arena all rising to their feet. It was one of the loudest ovations of the night.

O’Neill looks to break into the top 10 in the women’s flyweight division after winning her third fight in a row. The armbar finish is her second submission victory in the UFC, with the first coming June 19, 2021, when she landed a standing rear-naked choke against Lara Fritzen.

Joanderson Brito (20-5-1) in his first UFC numbered event started the early prelims with a first-round stoppage over Giga Chikadze (15-7-0) in the featherweight division.

Chikadze landed a strong head kick early in the round. But when Chikadze would try landing another head kick, he would slip. Brito immediately got on top and started throwing a flurry of ground-and-pound punches. Chikadze would block the initial strikes, but Brito powered his way through the guard and would get the finish in round 1.

This is the seventh finish of Brito’s UFC career, third-most all time in the featherweight division.

Brito has now won three fights in a row and improves to 8-3 in the UFC.