I am sure you know but in case you somehow don’t this is a rematch. It is a rematch from a 26 second fight that happened last December where a total of 8 strikes were landed before Pantoja’s arm got twisted up in a scramble where van caught a kick and then he pushed it forward Pantoja landed awkwardly and dislocated his left elbow.

When i first broke this fight down I picked Pantoja and I am pretty sure if we didn;t get the freak arm injury, he would’ve gone on to win that fight. But since then things have changed. Pantoja is 36 now, Joshua Van had a dominant performance in his first title defense and it very much feels like the tides have shifted. I could spend time breaking down the technical ins and outs here, but I don’t think it will come down to specific individual techniques, I think it comes down to the insane volume Van throws up, his unwillingness to fold to wrestling pressure and Pantoja rushing back after a meaningful injury. For only being 24 years old Van has a ton of experience and composure which he has earned by fighting wrestler, after wrestler after wrestler. The vast majority of his UFC career has been people looking to take him down and when he fought someone willing to stand with him, he set a record for more strikes landed in a 3 round fight. I think Joshua Van wins here and looks great doing it. I don’t think it’s relatively close and I think Pantoja will look very old come fight night.

Joshua Van

Josh Van is a solid striker with agression, volume and power. His takedown and scramble skills are decent and as he is only 24 years old, everything is improving from fight to fight. He is the new generation of fighter so even though he is primarily a striker, he is good everywhere and can grapple as well. His pocket striking is incredible but he does get hit a ton, the good news is though that he doesn’t cut or bleed. He is coming off the one sides win over Tatsuro Taira

Alexandre Pantoja

Alexandre Pantoja loves to walk forward and go to work. He has ok power and gives damage but he’s mostly a fantastic grappler with good control and ground and pound. He’s incredibly durable and the only people who have really been able to beat him did it with wrestling and control. He is coming off the dislocated elbow against Josh Van