If you are a fan of flyweight mixed martial arts, UFC 317 was definitely the event for you.
Men’s flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja earned his eighth consecutive win since 2020 and his fourth straight title defence by submitting Kai Kara-France in the co-main event Saturday in Las Vegas.
Pantoja got off to a quick start by dominating the opening round, wrapping up Kara-France and controlling the action on the ground for nearly the entire five minutes and coming close to an arm-triangle choke at one point.
The defending champ also had success striking when on his feet but relied on his superior ground game and top-tier jiu-jitsu to keep the action where he wanted it.
Pantoja took Kara-France’s back in the third round and locked in a rear-naked choke that ended the fight.
Saturday’s co-main event was a rematch of a 2016 exhibition bout when the two were competitors on The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions. Pantoja won a two-round unanimous decision over Kara-France in their meeting 8.5 years ago, but the judges were not needed in the sequel.
Pantoja hadn’t fought since a title defence in December over Kai Asakura at UFC 310. The 35-year-old from Brazil has also earned title defences over Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg since beating Brandon Moreno in July 2023 to earn the gold belt initially.
Kara-France was returning from a 14-month layoff and was coming off a first-round technical knockout win over Erceg, who had a narrow decision loss to Pantoja at UFC 301 and had never previously been finished. The 32-year-old from New Zealand also held a notable past win over Askar Askarov, who was the most recent person to defeat Pantoja.
Pantoja is one of the UFC’s most dominant champions with wins over six of the top nine current flyweight contenders, including multiple victories over Moreno, Royval and now Kara-France.
There isn’t much mystery about who his next opponent will be, since the next flyweight title challenger was determined in the fight immediately preceding the co-main event.
Rising star Joshua Van continued his incredible run in the 125-pound division with a breakout performance against Brandon Royval.
The pair put on one of the most fan-friendly and fast-paced fights of 2025, setting a new record for the most combined significant strikes in a flyweight bout.
Both fighters landed and absorbed more than 200 significant strikes each, and when all was said and done, all three judges awarded the fight to Van.
Van was coming off a technical knockout win just 21 days earlier when he overwhelmed and finished Bruno Silva at UFC 316 and stepped up on short notice to take on the biggest challenge of his career to date.
Royval was the No. 1-ranked contender entering the weekend and was originally scheduled to face Manel Kape at the event before Kape withdrew with a broken foot sustained while training.
Van, who is known for his relentless offence and crisp boxing combinations from an orthodox stance, made a prophetic statement earlier in the week at UFC 317 media day when he said: “The thing I bring is a little different. The pressure. Two pressure fighters going to fight in the middle of the cage, so it’s going to be great for the fans.”
The 23-year-old, originally from Myanmar, now living and training in Texas, is 8-1 in the UFC after nine appearances since his organizational debut just two years ago.
Van entered the night averaging a UFC record 8.2 strikes landed per minute, a record average that will increase after his win over Royval.
It was all gas, no brakes for the duration of the 15-minute scrap.
Royval, who holds a submission win over Kara-France but also has two previous losses to Pantoja, fought from his southpaw stance, and although he landed more significant strikes in both Round 2 and Round 3, it was not enough to get the nod.
Van sealed the deal by knocking Royval down in the final 10 seconds of the three-round barnburner.
The UFC seated Van cageside during Pantoja vs. Kara-France and brought the youngster into the cage for a staredown with the reigning champion.
Van mentioned during his post-fight interview that he was dealing with a toe injury on his right foot, the severity of which is currently unknown.
It was not immediately clear when Van and Pantoja might step into the cage against one another, but it will presumably be later this year.
The flyweight division is the lightest men’s division in the UFC, and the talent in the weight class is often overlooked. That wasn’t the case at UFC 317, and after those performances from Pantoja and Van, their upcoming matchup will certainly have fight fans buzzing.
