PHILADELPHIA – The build to UFC 331 is officially underway after the kick-off press conference on Friday featuring top athletes from the card.
UFC 331 takes place Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (Paramount+), and featured a flyweight **** le rematch in the main event. Champion Joshua Van (16-2 MMA, 10-1 UFC) attempts to make his second defense against former champion Alexandre Pantoja (30-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in an essential rebooking from when the belt switched hands in December after Pantoja suffered an arm injury just seconds into the contest.
The co-headliner, meanwhile, sees Arman Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) looks to further solidify a lightweight **** le shot against Mauricio Ruffy (14-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC), who can achieve a trajectory-changing win of his own in the 155-pound **** le scene.
All four athletes were on hand to answer questions from reporters about UFC 331, then afterward participated in their first set of faceoffs.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: UFC 331 first faceoffs with Van vs. Pantoja 2, Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy

#tsarukyan #first #philadelphia