UFC 331: Joshua Van keeps the belt, Gable Steveson KO'd in 12 seconds
The main event ended just after 9am Pakistan time. Van took a unanimous decision over Alexandre Pantoja, and the night's biggest upset took 12 seconds.
Joshua Van kept the UFC flyweight title. He beat Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision at UFC 331 in Los Angeles, on scorecards of 49-46, 50-45 and 48-47. The fight finished at about 9:10am Pakistan time this morning.
It was Van's second successful defence. He had taken the belt from Pantoja by first-round TKO at UFC 323 last December, so the Brazilian went in looking to settle it. He did not: 25 minutes, and only one judge had it close.
Van is 18-2. Pantoja falls to 30-7.
Twelve seconds
The moment of the night belonged to Sean Sharaf, who knocked out Gable Steveson with punches at 0:12 of round one.
Steveson is the Olympic wrestling gold medallist who came into MMA undefeated at 4-0 and was being built as a heavyweight project. Sharaf, 4-2 going in, needed twelve seconds. Steveson is now 4-1 and the whole plan has to be redrawn.
Main card, in full
| Result | Method |
|---|---|
| Joshua Van def. Alexandre Pantoja | unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 48-47) |
| Arman Tsarukyan def. Mauricio Ruffy | KO, elbow, R1, 4:54 |
| Patricio Pitbull def. Doo Ho Choi | KO, punches, R1, 3:28 |
| Sean Sharaf def. Gable Steveson | TKO, punches, R1, 0:12 |
| Alonzo Menifield def. Iwo Baraniewski | split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) |
Arman Tsarukyan's elbow with six seconds left in the first round was the other finish worth rewinding. It puts him back in the lightweight title conversation.
Patricio Pitbull, 38-9 now, knocked out Doo Ho Choi in under four minutes at 38 years old.
Prelims and early prelims
| Result | Method |
|---|---|
| Marlon Vera def. Charles Jourdain | TKO, punch, R3, 2:02 |
| Robelis Despaigne def. Tai Tuivasa | split decision |
| Michael Aswell def. Joo Sang Yoo | split decision |
| Ryan Gandra def. Ozzy Diaz | KO, punches, R1, 2:04 |
| Edmen Shahbazyan def. Brunno Ferreira | unanimous decision |
| Casey O'Neill def. Eduarda Moura | submission, armbar, R1, 3:22 |
| Joanderson Brito def. Giga Chikadze | KO, punches, R1, 1:57 |
Marlon Vera ended a four-fight losing run and set a UFC bantamweight knockdown record on the way. Jourdain told the referee he did not want to continue.
Tai Tuivasa lost again, on a split card, and is now 15-11.
Watching UFC from Pakistan
The card aired live on Paramount+. Main cards routinely land between 6am and 10am Pakistan time, because Las Vegas and Los Angeles evenings are Pakistani mornings, and the 12-hour gap to the US west coast is what makes UFC a breakfast sport here rather than a late-night one.
UFC 331 ran from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Los Angeles is 12 hours behind Pakistan.
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Frequently asked questions
- Who won UFC 331?
- Joshua Van retained the UFC flyweight title, beating Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 48-47) at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on 19 September 2026, which was the morning of 20 September in Pakistan.
- How long did Sean Sharaf take to beat Gable Steveson?
- Twelve seconds. Sharaf stopped the former Olympic wrestling gold medallist with punches at 0:12 of the first round, handing Steveson the first loss of his professional MMA career.
Sources
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