Joshua Van Beats Alexandre Pantoja, Judges' Scorecards, Prize Money, Stats & UFC 331 Highlights

Joshua Van removed any doubt that he's the top flyweight in the UFC with a unanimous decision win over Alexandre Pantoja to defend his 125-pound belt in the UFC 331 main event.

The first fight between the two didn't last long, but the second one provided fans with fireworks early. Pantoja took the early lead with a successful takedown and grappling, but Van worked his way to the feet and both men landed impressive shots in the striking.

Some controversy started brewing in the second round. Van and Pantoja's heads collided, cutting Pantoja open. The Brazilian appealed to referee Herb Dean to no avail.

Pantoja didn't need the help from the ref. He found success with a takedown attempt and continued to put pressure on Van. As expected, Van was more than happy to respond with pressure of his own.

The two had several highlight-worthy exchanges.

The back-and-forth led to some tight scorecards heading into the fifth and final round.

The champion closed out the fight with his strongest round of the night. He scored a knockdown and nearly finished the bout, but Pantoja hung on to get to the decision.

The win vindicates Van as a champion since he took the belt from Pantoja in unique circumstances in their first fight. Van was declared the winner in under 30 seconds when Pantoja suffered an arm injury within the first 30 seconds of the fight.

The 24-year-old went to work and defended his title with a fifth-round TKO win over Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328 in May.

A four-month turnaround is a busy schedule for a champion, but he seemed to handle it well. It's a pace he seems to want to keep as he looks to stack title defenses.

"I always want to stay active," Van said, per Matthew Wells of MMAJunkie. . "If I'm gonna be training all the time, why not fight all the time, right? That's kind of my mindset."

Manel Kape could be the next contender in line. He hasn't fought Van yet, is on a four-fight win streak with four knockouts and he doesn't currently have a fight on the books.

If Van really wants to get back in the cage ASAP then Kape is the most likely contender.