UFC 331 Full Card Set: Tsarukyan And Pantoja Make Their Returns
UFC 331 on September 19th officially has its headlining bout set, with Alexandre Pantoja returning for a rematch with current flyweight champion Joshua Van, after suffering an injury in their first meeting in 2025.
The pair initially squared off at UFC 323 in December, but Pantoja (30-6) injured his arm just 26-seconds into the first round, declaring Van (17-2) the new 125-pound titleholder. Van, who wasn’t fully satisfied with winning the title in this fashion, turned around and quickly defended his title in May with an impressive knockout victory over Tatsuro Taira, proving to everyone he is a true champion.
In the co-main event, Arman Tsarukyan (23-3), who also has not made a UFC appearance since his 2025 submission victory over Dan Hooker, will now square off with Mauricio Ruffy (14-2). Coming off one of the biggest wins of his career with his spinning back kick knockout of former title challenger Michael Chandler at UFC Freedom 250 in June, Ruffy will be looking for his third straight win while dealing with the offensive wrestling prowess of Tsarukyan.
The main card is rounded out with a top-ten lightweight match between Renato Moicano (21-7-1) and former featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega (16-5), former two-division Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull (37-9) taking on South Korea’s Doo Ho Choi (17-4-1), and Charles Jourdain against Marlon Vera at 135-pounds.
On the preliminary card, knockout artist Robelis Despaigne will make his first UFC appearance in two years when he faces fan favourite Tai Tuivasa. Despaigne went 1-2 with the promotion in 2024 before moving over to compete with Karate Combat, where he dominated ‘The Pit’ through 2025. But in his most recent outing, he moved back to a traditional MMA rule set when he secured a first-round knockout of former UFC champion Junior dos Santos on the undercard of Rousey vs. Carano in May.
Back on the West Coast 🌴
The official bout list for #CryptoCom #UFC331 is here!
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— UFC (@ufc) August 5, 2026