“The mentality hasn’t changed, I want to finish my opponents,” Pantoja says ahead of UFC 323 fight against Van & more related news here

With five of five wins and four consecutive flyweight title defenses, Alexandre Pantoja has been a force to be reckoned with in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

On Sunday, his credentials as a top-five pound-for-pound fighter will be put to the test when he faces Burmese Joshua Van at UFC 323 at the T-Mobile in Las Vegas.

Pantoja has previously recognized the caliber that Van possesses, but he intends to finish off his rival as always. Of his 35 professional fights, 20 ended in finals and 10 of them were first-round finishes.

“Of course, I will look to finish (Van). Every time I enter the octagon, I try to finish my opponent; it doesn’t matter how. But, in the end, the only thing that matters is getting that victory,” Pantoja said before the fight against Van.

“From my first fight until now, the mentality has not changed. I wanted to finish my opponent then and I intend to do it now,” he adds.

Van is the first fighter based in Myanmar and has carried the weight of his nation with style. The 24-year-old racked up a five-game winning streak and earned a title shot with a unanimous decision victory over Brandon Royval at UFC 317. He has three wins out of three in 2025.

And Pantoja is aware of the threat that Van poses. “When you fight someone, you have to know their story, and Joshua Van has a beautiful one. He’s a very good fighter, but so am I. It took me 20 years to reach this position and I have a lot more to achieve.” the 35 year old

“Van has very good takedown defense. The fight will mainly involve high-level striking, but knocking the opponent to the ground is my forte, and I will do my best to do that this weekend,” he added.

Watch UFC 323 Dvalishvili vs Yan 2 on December 7, 2025 starting at 8:30 am IST live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD (Tamil & Telugu)

Published on December 6, 2025