Arman Tsarukyan of Georgia poses on the scale during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at ABHA Arena on November 21, 2025 in Doha, Qatar

UFC 331's main card received a late change this week after Brian Ortega pulled out due to an injury.

Ortega said 'stitches in my eye' left him with no choice but to withdraw from his scheduled ranked lightweight clash with Renato Moicano.

Opponents Joshua Van of Myanmar and Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil face off during the UFC 331 press conference
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Pantoja has a chance to reclaim the flyweight title when he rematches champion Van in the main event of UFC 331 on SaturdayCredit: Getty

As a result, Moicano has been moved to a different UFC event and is set to face Tom Nolan in the main event of UFC Vegas 123 on October 31.

This has left UFC 331 with a new main card, as highly rated heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson, trained by Jon Jones, steps up to the plate.

What time is UFC 331?

UFC 331 takes place this Saturday, September 19, at the 20,000-capacity Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

The first fight of the early preliminary card is scheduled to start at 10pm UK time (2pm local, 5pm ET).

UFC 331's prelims are then set to get underway at 12am UK on Sunday (4pm local, 7pm ET).

That's before Steveson vs Sharaf kicks off the main card at 2am UK (6pm local, 9pm ET).

UFC 331 full card

Subject to change

Main card

  • MAIN EVENT: Joshua Van (c) vs Alexandre Pantoja - for UFC Flyweight Championship
  • Co-main: Arman Tsarukyan vs Mauricio Ruffy - Lightweight
  • Patricio Pitbull vs Dooho Choi - Featherweight
  • Alonzo Menifield vs Iwo Baraniewski - Light Heavyweight
  • Gable Steveson vs Sean Sharaf - Heavyweight

Prelims

  • Marlon Vera vs Charles Jourdain - Bantamweight
  • Tai Tuivasa vs Robelis Despaigne - Heavyweight
  • Michael Aswell Jr vs JooSang Yoo - Featherweight
  • Ryan Gandra vs Ozzy Diaz - Middleweight

Early prelims

  • Edmen Shahbazyan vs Brunno Ferreira - Middleweight
  • Casey O'Neill vs Eduarda Moura - Women's Flyweight
  • Giga Chikadze vs Joanderson Brito - Featherweight
Arman Tsarukyan of Georgia reacts after a submission victory against Dan Hooker of New Zealand in a lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at ABHA Arena on November 22, 2025 in Doha, Qatar
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Tsarukyan can set up a lightweight title shot with a victory over Ruffy in the co-main event of UFC 331Credit: Getty

How to watch UFC 331

The entire card will air exclusively on Paramount+ for fans based in the US as part of its regular subscription.

For those in the UK, UFC 331 will broadcast live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

In the UK, it can also be viewed on Amazon Prime Video, EE TV and Virgin Media.

Tsarukyan in do-or-die situation

Ahead of his co-main event against fellow lightweight contender Ruffy, Tsarukyan, widely viewed to be the next UFC lightweight champion, explained what is at stake.

“I’m taking Mauricio Ruffy as an opponent for my title fight,” Tsarukyan said on his YouTube channel.

 “If I lose this fight, I’m never going to see a title fight. That’s why I’m super motivated and super hungry.

"I’ve been working so hard for that moment... I never underestimate [Ruffy], especially his striking.

"I’ve got to be so smart during the fight because he has a good punch, so he’s knocked out a lot of people.

“Now it’s my time. I have a good game plan. It’s going to work very well.

"I’m not saying it’s going to be an easy fight. It’s going to be a hard fight, but I'm going to get the victory.”

Gable Steveson strikes Elisha Ellison in a heavyweight fight during the UFC 329 event at T-Mobile Arena on July 11, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada
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Steveson makes his second promotional appearance at UFC 331 as he kicks off the main card against SharafCredit: Getty

Pantoja's plan to reclaim UFC gold

Pantoja, who is out to reclaim the UFC flyweight title he dropped to Van in December, said winning the belt is 'what I want more than anything'.

"I'm super ready — the best thing now is that I have the chance to become champion," the Brazilian, who features in talkSPORT’s UFC pound-for-pound rankings, explained to Stake.

"In the last fight, he was trying to become the champion, while I was already the champion. But now he is the world champion, and I want to win that belt back.

"Just like the first time, winning that belt is one of the only things I can think about. That’s what I want more than anything."

Asked to predict the fight, he added: "My prediction? I win.

Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil is interviewed by Joe Rogan in the UFC flyweight championship bout during the UFC 317 event at T-Mobile Arena on June 28, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevad
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Pantoja will do everything in his power to become UFC champion once again this weekendCredit: Getty

"If Van can take it to the judges, good for him. I respect that. But I’ve trained so hard to put on a great show.

"I’m going to keep training hard because I don’t want to fall short again. I want to make my show happen.

"I was really frustrated last time because I didn’t get to show everything I had. But now I have more control over myself, too, and I just want to enjoy the moment.

"Most of the hard work is already done. Of course, you still have to make weight, and I respect that part of the process.

"But now I just want to enjoy myself and enjoy everything I’ve done to get here."

talkSPORT.com has collectively voted on the best fighters to form a regularly updated UFC pound-for-pound (P4P) rankings system for the rest of 2026 and beyond.

Our P4P list will be updated regularly based on performances in the Octagon — with wins, records, title wins and defences, calibre of opponents, methods of victory and much more all determining who makes it.

UFC champions Islam Makhachev, Tom Aspinall and Sean Strickland feature - but big stars such as Alex Pereira and Arman Tsarukyan miss out.

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