Van On Pantoja Ahead Of UFC 331 Rematch

Joshua Van says Alexandre Pantoja deserves to be slapped for recent comments ahead of their UFC 331 flyweight title rematch Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Van captured the flyweight championship from Pantoja in December when the Brazilian dislocated his elbow 26 seconds into the fight while bracing a fall. The champion has since defended the belt against Tatsuro Taira, but questions around that unusual first meeting have kept the rematch alive. What started as a respectful rivalry has turned personal. At last month's kickoff press conference in Philadelphia, Pantoja left his seat and moved toward Van before Dana White stepped between them, MMA Mania reports.

Van Claims Fatherhood Status Over Former Champ

Pantoja told media at UFC 331 availability that Van successfully provoked him. "He did a good job," Pantoja said, per MMA Mania. "I'm from the '90s. Back then, if you didn't respect your mother and father, they were going to slap you." Van fired back with a claim of his own. "As far as I checked, I'm his dad," Van said. "You know the stuff he's been saying? He should get smacked for that."

Van accused Pantoja of playing the respectful good guy while casting the champion as the villain. "He's trying to be this guy where he's the good guy, right? Trying to make me the bad guy," Van added. "It's funny to me. We're going to fight Saturday and find out who's the better man."

The fighters will face off one more time at Thursday's UFC 331 press conference before squaring off Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — ‘I’m his dad!’ Joshua Van vows Alexandre Pantoja should ‘get smacked’ ahead of UFC 331