A flyweight championship bout served as Saturday’s UFC 323 co-main event. Champion Alexandre Pantoja looked to defend his belt for the fifth time against top contender Joshua Van.
Pantoja entered the fight riding an eight-fight winning streak. He last fought at UFC 317 in June, submitting Kai Kara-France in the third round. Van made the walk to the octagon inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on a five-fight winning streak coming off a decision win over former title challenger Brandon Royval.
Pantoja landed first with a leg kick followed by you a right hand. Pantoja threw a head kick and slipped. Van looked to follow Pantoja to the canvas but it became obvious that Pantoja was injured. While trying to catch in self on the way day, Pantoja either broke his arm or dislocated it.
Van did not follow up with any punches as Pantoja laid on the canvas holding his arm. Joshua Van is the new uFC bantamweight champion.
“I didn’t know what happened. He just stopped,” Van said after the fight “I tried to ground and pound him, but the ref was like something is wrong.”
“He’s one of the greatest of all time. I didn’t want the fight to go that way. Maybe the UFC can figure something out.”
