The confidence from both sides was evident when they answered questions from media about the fight, then neither backed down when they got in front of each other. Check out the video above to see the Pantoja vs.

When former 125-pound title challenger Kyoji Horiguchi returned to the Octagon last Saturday for the first time in nine years at UFC Fight Night in Qatar, there wasn't anyone happier or more impressed than his teammate, current flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.

Get the best Pantoja vs. Van predictions ahead of Saturday's co-main event in Las Vegas. Free UFC picks for December 6.

LAS VEGAS – Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja is chasing greater heights at UFC 323. Pantoja (30-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) defends his flyweight belt against rising star Joshua Van (15-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in Saturday's co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPN2/FX/Disney+, ESPN+) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Like many Brazilians, Alexandre Pantoja loves soccer. Pantoja recently named his favorite footballers from different eras. The UFC flyweight champion considers Ronaldinho Gaucho to be the best soccer player he grew up watching.

Merab Dvalishvili enters the octagon for his fourth bantamweight title defense of the year. Here is the expected ringwalk time for the fight.

It should be a fun card, as Merab Dvalishvili challenges Petr Yan for the bantamweight title and Alexandre Pantoja and Joshua Van square off for the flyweight title. I’ve also written up an additional preliminary fight,

Merab Dvalishvili -425 (c) vs. Petr Yan +330, bantamweight title; Alexandre Pantoja -238 (c) vs. Joshua Van +195, flyweight title; Tatsuro Taira -122 vs. Brandon Moreno +102, flyw