Joshua Van Fought Pantoja With a Torn Shoulder at UFC 331

Joshua Van won the UFC 331 main event in Los Angeles on Saturday, edging Alexandre Pantoja over five rounds to defend his flyweight belt for the second time. Then he stood at the post-fight podium and dropped the part nobody knew: he tore the AC joint in his right shoulder roughly a month before the fight and couldn't even spar until two weeks out.

That's a staggering admission for a 24-year-old carrying a five-round title defense against a former champ. Van said the injury hit right after the fight-week press conference in Philadelphia, forcing his camp to scrap most contact work and lean almost entirely on cardio — running, conditioning, keeping the engine turning while the shoulder healed. He plans to get MRIs and a full checkup, and he's hoping nothing serious turns up.

The win pushes Van further into the UFC's future-star conversation. Pantoja, now 30-7 (8 KO, 12 SUB) and still ranked at the top of the division, was fighting Van for the second time. Their first meeting ended with a freak injury to Pantoja in the opening seconds, so this rematch was, in a sense, the real answer. Van got it done the hard way.

The Kape Question

Van's next move is up in the air. Top contender Manel Kape is the obvious front-runner, and when asked directly, Van didn't push back — he said he's happy to take whoever the matchmakers hand him. No timeline, no opponent locked, just a champion who sounds ready to keep working.

There was a camp-wide toughness on display Saturday. Van pointed to teammate Michael Aswell, who beat Joo Sang Yoo by decision on the same card despite training through a hurt rib. The two prepared together, both banged up, and both refused to pull out. Van framed Aswell's grit as fuel for his own performance.

Asked for his first thought on the win, Van kept it blunt: he feels pain. He also called Pantoja one of the greatest flyweights ever and said he was grateful for a five-round war. For a champion who spent camp barely able to spar, that's about as honest a summary as you'll get.