Minutes after his UFC 317 win over Kai Kara-France, Pantoja (30-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) was quite literally faced with his next opponent. Into the cage at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas walked Joshua Van, who defeated Brandon Royval in a thrilling title eliminator just one fight prior.

Alexandre Pantoja had issued a fiery statement regarding his pound-for-pound ranking after defending his title for a fourth time at UFC 317.

France (25-12 MMA, 8-5 UFC) an an exhibition bout in 2016, he got it done again on the sport's biggest stage with a third-round submission in the co-headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.