“Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja nearly come to blows at UFC 331 Press Conference. The rivalry between Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja went from heated to nearly physical at the UFC 331 press conference on Friday, August 14, as the two flyweights traded sharp words before their highly anticipated rematch.
Van, the reigning UFC flyweight champion, and former champion Pantoja are scheduled to meet again on September 19 at Arena in Los Angeles, with Van’s title on the line. Their first meeting at UFC 323 ended after just 26 seconds when Pantoja suffered an elbow injury, allowing Van to claim the championship.
The controversial ending clearly remained on both fighters’ minds.
When Van was asked about the injury that ended their first fight, he made his position clear, insisting that he believed he would have beaten Pantoja even without the injury.
“Had that not happened, I would have still whooped his ass that day, ” Van said when asked about the injury that awarded him the title. “So September 19, it’s just another opportunity for me to whoop his ass again.”
Pantoja wasn’t impressed, the former champion warned Van to watch what he said before the conversation became increasingly tense. Van then interrupted Pantoja while he was discussing his history in the flyweight division.
“I think he needs to wash his mouth,” Pantoja replied. “I respect where I’m from. I’m from Brazil. In Brazil, you need to take care about what you talk. If not, maybe you lose your teeth.”
Things only heated up from there as Van interrupted Pantoja while he was giving a long answer about what this fight means to him and his history in the division.
“Bro, talk about the fight on September 19,” Van said. “We’re not here for your story, bro. We’re here for the fight.
“Hey kid, when someone talks, you shut your f*cking mouth,” Pantoja responded. “You understand that?”
“Shut up. What you gonna do about it?”
Pantoja stood up and moved toward Van before security intervened. Dana White also stepped in as officials separated the two fighters, preventing the confrontation from becoming physical. Van continued taunting Pantoja as he was held back.
“You ain’t doing shit,” Van said. “Sit your ass down. Sit your ass down; you ain’t doing shit. Somebody get him some milk.”
“Hey kid, September 19, you’re gonna be locked in the octagon with me,” Pantoja replied. This is a new look from Van, who seemed to enjoy needling Pantoja and trying to rile him up. But for the former flyweight champion, this just looked like Van pretending to be something he’s not.
“Nothing about Joshua surprises me,” Pantoja said. “He tries to make this character, tries to be the tough guy, but what I see, he’s just a fraidy cat. He’s afraid.”
“I ain’t afraid of shit,” Van responded.
“Oh, I’m so tough,” Pantoja mocked.
“My name is Fearless,” Van said. “I ain’t scared of you.”
The two then had their first faceoff for this fight, where things remained fiery, with both men jawing at each other and Dana White having to keep them apart.
What began as a routine press conference had quickly turned into a preview of what could be an intensely personal rematch.
With the first fight ending before either man could settle the rivalry inside the Octagon, Van and Pantoja will finally have the chance to settle their differences for real on September 19, and judging by what happened on the stage, the rematch already has plenty of bad blood behind it.
