UFC 331 Prelim Results: Vera, Despaigne and Brito Score Big Wins at Van vs Pantoja 2
UFC 331 Prelim Results
The UFC 331 prelims delivered a mix of finishes and close decisions at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 19.
The event, officially titled Crypto.com UFC 331: Van vs Pantoja 2, featured a flyweight championship rematch between Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja as the main event.
Before the main card began, seven fights took place across the early prelims and regular prelims. Several fighters made strong statements, while others had to rely on the judges’ scorecards.
The UFC confirmed the official results following each fight.
Marlon Vera Defeats Charles Jourdain
Marlon “Chito” Vera closed the regular prelim card with a third-round TKO victory over Charles Jourdain.
Vera entered the fight looking to end a difficult run of results. Jourdain, meanwhile, had won three straight fights since moving down to bantamweight.
Vera eventually found the finish in the third round, giving him an important victory and keeping his place among the UFC’s ranked bantamweights.
The fight was the featured prelim bout and provided a strong finish before the main card began.
Despaigne Edges Tuivasa
Robelis Despaigne earned a split-decision victory over Tai Tuivasa in their heavyweight contest.
The judges scored the fight 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 for Despaigne.
The Cuban heavyweight returned to the UFC after previously competing in the promotion in 2024. Tuivasa entered the contest hoping to end a long losing streak.
The closely contested fight went the full three rounds before Despaigne was awarded the victory.
Aswell Wins Split Decision
Michael Aswell Jr. also secured a split-decision victory, defeating Joo Sang Yoo in their featherweight matchup.
Two judges scored the fight 29-28 for Aswell, while another gave the same score to Yoo.
Aswell, who trains with UFC 331 headliner Joshua Van, improved his position with the hard-fought victory.
The result added another competitive fight to a prelim card that featured several close scorecards.
Gandra Scores First-Round KO
Ryan Gandra produced one of the fastest finishes of the night when he stopped Ozzy Diaz in the opening round.
Gandra won by knockout at 2:04 of Round 1.
The Brazilian fighter entered the middleweight contest riding a nine-fight winning streak. His latest victory extended that run and gave him another impressive finish on a major UFC card.
Gandra’s performance was one of the standout moments from the regular prelims.
Early Prelim Results
The early portion of UFC 331 also produced several notable performances.
Edmen Shahbazyan defeated Brunno Ferreira by unanimous decision. The judges scored the fight 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 for Shahbazyan.
Casey O’Neill submitted Eduarda Moura with an armbar at 3:22 of the first round. The victory gave O’Neill another important result in the women’s flyweight division.
Joanderson Brito opened the event with a first-round knockout against Giga Chikadze. Brito stopped Chikadze with punches at 1:57 of Round 1.
Full UFC 331 Prelim Results
The complete results from the preliminary portion of UFC 331 were:
- Marlon Vera defeated Charles Jourdain — TKO, Round 3.
- Robelis Despaigne defeated Tai Tuivasa — split decision.
- Michael Aswell Jr. defeated Joo Sang Yoo — split decision.
- Ryan Gandra defeated Ozzy Diaz — KO, Round 1.
- Edmen Shahbazyan defeated Brunno Ferreira — unanimous decision.
- Casey O’Neill defeated Eduarda Moura — submission, Round 1.
- Joanderson Brito defeated Giga Chikadze — KO, Round 1.
The results set the stage for the UFC 331 main card, headlined by Joshua Van’s flyweight title defense against former champion Alexandre Pantoja.
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