Joshua Van remains confident in his ability to stop Alexandre Pantoja inside three rounds when the two flyweights meet in the UFC 331 main event this weekend.
Van is set to defend his flyweight championship against Pantoja on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, in a rematch of their unusual first encounter at UFC 323 last December.
Their initial meeting ended just 26 seconds into the fight after Pantoja suffered a freak elbow injury, allowing Van to become champion. Since then, “The Fearless” has successfully defended his title against Tatsuro Taira in May and is now preparing to welcome Pantoja back to the Octagon.
Despite the circumstances surrounding their first meeting, Van is confident that the rematch will produce a definitive result and he expects to secure the victory early this Saturday.
Speaking to Full Send MMA earlier this week, Van reaffirmed his prediction that he would finish Pantoja inside three rounds.
“Is the prediction still this week you're going to get him out of there within three rounds?” the interviewer asked.
“Yes, sir. Still,” Van responded.
When asked why he had specifically targeted a three-round finish, Van explained that his confidence was based on both his preparation and weaknesses he and his team had identified in Pantoja's game.
“Why specifically three rounds? Is it something you've seen in his training, in his previous fights, or is that just solely your confidence?” he was asked.
“Ah, both. Both.” He responded. “You know, we study him. We study him. And, you know, we see a little hole that he got in his game. And we try to capitalize on that. So there's a couple of things that I can't speak on, you know, a thing. But yeah, it'll be done in inside three rounds.”
