Van wins UFC flyweight title after Pantoja injures arm
Joshua Van won the flyweight title after Alexandre Pantoja suffered an arm injury in the opening seconds of the UFC 323 co-main event Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Van officially won via TKO at the 0:26 mark of the first round.
Alexandre Pantoja is taken backstage after losing his title at #UFC323 due to injury pic.twitter.com/cAZ745Ban8
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) December 7, 2025
Van, 24, is the first UFC champion born in the 2000s and the second-youngest champion in promotion history behind Jon Jones.
The victory is the fastest finish in a flyweight title fight, topping Henry Cejudo's 32-second knockout of TJ Dillashaw in 2019.
Van is one of the breakthrough stars of the year, winning four fights in a row to go from up-and-coming prospect to flyweight champion. The Myanmar native earned a shot at the title with a unanimous decision win over Brandon Royval in a Fight of the Year candidate at UFC 317 in June.
Pantoja's eight-fight winning streak - and 29-month title reign - came to an end in his fifth defense. The 35-year-old Brazilian suffered his first loss since 2020.