Nine months and 13 days after their first fight, Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja will rematch in the UFC.
Their first matchup was back on December 6th, 2025. The pair were the co-main event of UFC 323: Dvalishvili vs. Yan 2.
It was Van who came out on top that night, although it was controversial. 26 seconds into the first round, Pantoja suffered a brutal left elbow dislocation and was unable to continue. On the official scorecard, it went down as a KO/TKO win for Van, but it was really an injury that ruined the first fight. It will be exciting to see who actually is the better fighter here as the first fight left that question unanswered.
Hopefully on September 19th, things will go a little differently. This will be Pantoja’s first time back since the injury. Van, however, has fought once in between, defeating Tatsuro Taira by TKO in the fifth round to retain the belt.
Coming into this bout, Van has won seven straight fights in the UFC. His record in the UFC is 10-1, with the only loss coming to Charles Johnson.
Pantoja had won five title fights in a row before his injury against Van. He has a 15-3 record in the UFC.
Pantoja opens as a slight -120 favorite to win this fight on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the champion Joshua Van listed as a +100 underdog to retain the belt.
