What's Next For The Stars Of UFC 331

UFC 331 delivered two major results in Los Angeles, with Joshua Van retaining his flyweight title in a decision win over Alexandre Pantoja and Arman Tsarukyan scoring a first-round elbow knockout of Mauricio Ruffy to establish himself as the top lightweight contender.

Van's win silenced doubts about his legitimacy as champion after his first meeting with Pantoja ended via injury rather than finish. A fight with Manel Kape makes sense as a logical next step, likely in early 2027.

Pantoja, now 36, struggled to deal with Van's boxing and got little out of his takedowns, leaving him needing a rebuilding fight. Asu Almabayev stands out as a sensible next opponent, with the winner likely a fight away from another title shot.

Tsarukyan's brutal finish of Ruffy puts him next in line at 155, though who he fights depends on Justin Gaethje's plans. A vacant title fight against Ilia Topuria could make sense if Gaethje retires, otherwise a Gaethje fight looms in early 2027.

Ruffy, meanwhile, will likely need extended time to recover from the knockout, with a return unlikely before late Q1 or early Q2 of 2027 — a fight against Mateusz Gamrot could be a reasonable landing spot once he's back.