It was announced on Monday that UFC Undisputed Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja is returning to defend his title against No. 1 Joshua Van in the co-main event of UFC 323 on December 6. “The Machine” Merab Dvalishvili is facing Petr Yan for the second time in the Main Event with the 135-pound title on the line.
The Champion is a -245 favorite as Van is a +200 underdog on DraftKings Sportsbook. Pantoja is currently on an eight-fight win streak with five title victories and hasn’t suffered a loss since 2020. If Pantoja can get past Van, he would join an illustrious group of fighters who have six title wins, the ninth most in UFC history. The eight fighters who have six title wins are Alex Pereira, Zhang Weili, Kamaru Usman, Ronda Rousey, Tito Ortiz, Stipe Miocic, Daniel Cormier, and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Even though Pantoja is 35 years old, he continues to improve, as he is coming off back-to-back submissions against Kai Asakura and Kai Kara-France. Now, Pantoja will face the 24-year-old phenom, Van, who has won five consecutive fights in the UFC in the last 13 months. Van is 3-0 in 2025 and is coming off the most significant win of his career against Brandon Royval at UFC 317 in June.
