UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja may not have any actual animosity towards Joshua Van ahead of their fight on Saturday but you wouldn’t know it by their faceoff following the pre-fight press conference.
As he seeks his fifth title defense at 125 pounds, Pantoja was all business as he intensely stared down Van in their first faceoff on Thursday.
In return, Van was all smiles as he came eye-to-eye with the champion while throwing his hand in the air in a pre-emptive celebration as he seeks to become one of the youngest champions in UFC history.
The main event didn’t provide any drama as Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan shared a quick faceoff before turning away from each other and instead basking in the adoration from the crowd. Dvalishvli quickly tossed his bantamweight title over one shoulder as the Las Vegas faithful embraced him rather loudly as he promised “and still” would be the final call from Bruce Buffer as UFC 323 came to an end.
Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo also enjoyed one of the final faceoffs of his legendary career after he announced plans to retire after his fight against Payton Talbott.
While the fighters actually spent time working together in the past, Talbott promised the sent Cejudo into retirement on a loss while “Triple C” took time to pay tribute to all those who helped him achieve success including a special nod to UFC CEO Dana White, who was not in attendance for the pre-fight press conference on Thursday.
