UFC 331 Recap: Tsarukyan's Last-Second Elbow, Van Beats Pantoja, Sharaf Stuns Steveson

Arman Tsarukyan proves that he's got the challenge in him for the title. A knockout or something extraordinary was something he needed to prove that he deserves the shot at the title once again.

And he's done just that.

UFC 331 was one with a few surprises, so let's get into it.

UFC 331 by the numbers

Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, Saturday, September 19, 2026

Attendance: 19,357, a sellout

Gate: $8.3 million, the highest in the arena's history

Fight of the Night: Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja

Performances of the Night: Arman Tsarukyan and Casey O'Neill

Mobland bonus: $50K to Sean Sharaf, and Dana matched it with another $50K

Main card

Joshua Van def. Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 50-45)

Arman Tsarukyan def. Mauricio Ruffy by KO (elbows) at 4:56 of Round 1

Patricio Pitbull def. Dooho Choi by KO (strikes) at 3:28 of Round 1

Sean Sharaf def. Gable Steveson by KO (left hand) at 0:12 of Round 1

Alonzo Menifield def. Iwo Baraniewski by split decision

Prelim highlights

Marlon Vera def. Charles Jourdain by TKO in Round 3

Robelis Despaigne def. Tai Tuivasa by split decision

Michael Aswell def. Joo Sang Yoo by split decision

Edmen Shahbazyan def. Brunno Ferreira by unanimous decision

Casey O'Neill def. Eduarda Moura by armbar in Round 1

Van vs. Pantoja 2: No more doubts

The first fight ended in 26 seconds with a broken arm. This one went all 25 minutes.

Pantoja came out on fire. He took Van down in the opening seconds and got to full mount in the first round. Then Van took over in the second and third, opening multiple cuts on Pantoja's face and battering him with volume.

Pantoja clawed back the fourth with his best grappling of the night. That sent it to the fifth, where Van dropped him and hunted a kimura before the bell.

The numbers tell the story. Van landed 259 total strikes and 181 significant. Pantoja had 147 significant strikes and over nine minutes of control time, but completed just five of his 18 takedown attempts.

Dana couldn't get enough of it:

He also called it "probably the greatest grudge match in the history of the UFC."

What made it even more impressive is what Van revealed afterwards. He tore his AC joint after the Philly press conference and only got two weeks of sparring in. His camp was mostly running.

On Pantoja surviving the late submission, he said: "Everybody in the gym, if I get them in that position, there's no way out... he's a mental giant."

As for what's next, Manel Kape is the obvious name. Van's answer: "Dana, Hunter, whoever you want in front of me, call me." He also had a message for the division: "Flyweight, you guys are welcome."

For Pantoja, it's the first two-fight losing streak of his career.

Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy: One elbow, one title shot

This is the one that'll get replayed.

Ruffy did everything right for four and a half minutes. He cracked Arman with a clean right hand early, and nearly swelled his left eye shut. Tsarukyan attempted ten takedowns and landed just one.

Then, with four seconds left in the round, two elbows along the fence, and it was lights out.

Dana admitted he'd written Arman off by that point:

Arman explained it simply: "He can defend my wrestling, but he cannot defend my striking."

He also gave credit to Neon in his corner, who called the elbow before he threw it.

He jumped the cage and went straight to Dana with a one-word message: "Title." Dana wouldn't commit, saying they don't know what Justin Gaethje is thinking yet, even though Gaethje was in the arena watching.

Arman had his own theory: "Justin never says my name, so he's scared."

It's six straight wins now, with four of his last five inside the distance. He wants to become the first Armenian champion in UFC history. And with a record gate driven by LA's Armenian community a couple of days before Armenian Independence Day, the timing couldn't be better.

He rated the performance a 6 or 7 out of 10. And yes, it was Batman Day, which is why he told the crowd he came to save the city.

Pitbull turns back the clock

This was the Bellator Pitbull everyone remembers.

He stood and traded with Dooho Choi. A clean right hand froze Choi before he crumbled, and Pitbull pounded out the finish.

Now 2-2 in the UFC at 38, he said he finally feels settled and called for Jean Silva next.

Dana confirmed Pitbull came straight over after the win asking for big fights.

Sharaf shocks the world

Twelve seconds.

Sean Sharaf came in 1-2 in the UFC, knocked out in each of his last two fights, as roughly a 9-to-1 underdog. The Santa Ana native and Marine Corps veteran ate a low kick, then landed a left hand that snapped Steveson's head back. Steveson landed just one strike.

Dana's take:

Fans weren't happy that Steveson left the Octagon before Sharaf got his hand raised. Dana brushed it off, pointing out that Forrest Griffin once ran out after winning a fight.

Then came the feel-good part. Dana said he'd heard Sharaf was $600K in debt, so the $100K in bonuses was knocking off a chunk of it.

Menifield wins with his bone sticking out

Alonzo Menifield fought through a compound fracture of his left thumb to hand Iwo Baraniewski his first loss.

It was close. Baraniewski actually outlanded him 67 to 62 in significant strikes and had more control time, and still lost.

Dana posted a photo of the thumb that grossed out the internet. His response: "You can look down and see your bone popping out of your skin... big win for him."

Surprises

Steveson gets flatlined. An Olympic gold medalist and huge favourite was done in twelve seconds by a guy on a two-fight skid. It's one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

Casey O'Neill's armbar. Dana said it was a submission "literally nobody has ever seen before." It earned her a Performance of the Night bonus.

Dana's U-turn on Ciryl Gane. A day earlier, Dana said Gane wasn't being promoted to undisputed heavyweight champion. On the broadcast, Rogan announced that he was. Asked what changed, Dana simply admitted he messed up. Gane will defend against Josh Hokit at MSG, and Dana didn't hide his feelings: "I literally don't like anything Josh Hokit says."

Aspinall vacates. Dana said Tom Aspinall is dealing with an injury and a long road back. He denied any bad blood but took a swipe at Eddie Hearn, Aspinall's new manager.

Harrison vs. Nunes is back on. Dana called it "the greatest women's fight ever in any sport ever."

Tuivasa loses again. He dropped a split decision to Despaigne, and fans are asking if this is the end. Dana said the first round was incredible and the UFC loves him.

Dana summed up the night himself:

Hard to argue.