Rematches and Southern California connections appear to be the theme for UFC 331 after the full card was announced on Wednesday.
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Nine months after their highly anticipated title fight ended disappointingly early, flyweight champion Joshua Van will defend against former champion Alexandre Pantoja in the Sept. 19 main event at Crypto.com Arena.
Van (17-2) captured the title via TKO at UFC 323 in December when Pantoja (30-6), in the first 26 seconds of the fight, injured his elbow after falling to the canvas.
The co-main event features lightweights Arman Tsarukyan (23-3) and Mauricio Ruffy (14-2) in what figures to be a title challenger elimination bout, with the winner likely facing new champion Justin Gaethje. Tsarukyan was rumored to fight former champion Charles Oliveira, the 155-pound champion from 2021-22, but Ruffy gets the nod.
Tickets for UFC 331, which will be the first time the premier MMA organization has hosted a card in downtown Los Angeles since UFC 227 on Aug. 4, 2018, go on sale Friday at AXS.com.
Another rematch features South Bay lightweight Brian Ortega taking on Renato Moicano in one of four bouts announced early Wednesday morning by the UFC. Ortega (16-5, 1 NC) and Moicano (21-7-1) first tangled at UFC 214 on July 29, 2017, at Honda Center, with “T-City” earning the victory via a third-round guillotine choke against the Brazilian featherweight.
Ortega won’t be the only fighter with SoCal roots on the card.
Light heavyweight Alonzo Menifield (18-6-1), who played football at Canyon High and Glendale Community College, takes on Iwo Baraniewski (9-0).
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Anaheim native Sean Sharaf (4-2) has a tough task ahead when he takes on prized heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson (4-0) in his sophomore UFC appearance.
Costa Mesa bantamweight Marlon Vera (23-12-1), who came up short in a unanimous-decision loss to then-champion Sean O’Malley at UFC 299 in March 2024, will take on Charles Jourdain (18-8-1).
Edmen Shahbazyan (16-6), who graduated from Hoover High in Glendale and currently trains in Las Vegas, will go up against Brazilian middleweight Brunno Ferreira (15-4).
Georgian native Giga Chikadze (15-6), who trains at Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, will face Brazilian featherweight Joanderson Brito (19-5-1).
Los Angeles native Ozzy Diaz (10-4) will step into the Octagon for the fourth time when he takes on Brazilian middleweight Ryan Gandra (10-1).
In other fights, former longtime Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull (37-9) will face South Korean standout Dooho Choi (17-4-1); popular Australian heavyweight Tai Tuivasa (15-10) will go up against newly re-signed Brazilian Robelis Despaigne (5-2); Scottish native Casey O’Neill (11-2) challenges Brazilian flyweight Eduarda Moura (12-2); and featherweights Michael Aswell (11-5) and Joosang Yoo (9-1) will go toe to toe.
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