Dec 6, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, UNITED STATES; Joshua Van (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Alexandre Pantoja (red gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images The 26-Second Number Everyone Remembers
Picture the entire first fight compressed into less time than it takes to read this paragraph: Van caught a Pantoja head kick, threw him to the canvas, and the former champion suffered an elbow injury on the landing that ended the bout before it truly began. That 26-second finish made Van, at 24, the second-youngest champion in UFC history, but it also left one of the sport’s most decorated flyweights with real unfinished business.
Where Van’s Volume Jumps Off the Page
Van’s statistical profile is genuinely rare for the division. He lands 8.20 to 8.43 significant strikes per minute, nearly double the output of most flyweight contenders, at 55-57% accuracy. His three-round war with Brandon Royval set the UFC record for most combined significant strikes in a single fight at 419, and he became the youngest fighter in promotion history to eclipse 1,000 significant strikes landed. Visualize that pace over five rounds: Van’s average fight time already sits at 13:15-13:37, meaning he’s comfortable pushing deep into championship territory while still throwing at a suffocating rate.
Pantoja’s Numbers Tell a Story
Pantoja’s game is built differently. His 30-6 record includes 12 submission wins against just 8 by knockout, and he averages 2.20 takedowns per 15 minutes with a 0.97 submission attempt rate, numbers that reflect a fighter who wants to drag opponents into deep water. But the defensive gap is stark: Pantoja’s takedown defense sits at 67%, and his significant striking defense is just 51%, both notably below Van’s marks of 76-81% and 58-59%, respectively. That’s the number that should worry Pantoja’s corner most—against a fighter landing at Van’s volume, a sub-60% striking defense could get exploited over 25 minutes rather than 26 seconds.
The Full Card’s Firepower
What the Numbers Suggest for Round Two
With Van’s output nearly double Pantoja’s per-minute striking numbers and a takedown-defense gap of nearly 10 points in the champion’s favor, the rematch numbers suggest Pantoja needs to change levels early and often rather than let this fight play out standing, because if it turns into another five-round track meet, Van’s volume and durability numbers heavily favor a real title defense this time.
