Alexandre Pantoja or Joshua Van? As the UFC 323 co-main event nears, Pantoja returns to defend his flyweight title once again, while the young and hungry Van, will stand across from him, hoping to become the second-youngest champion after Jon Jones. So far, ‘The Cannibal’ has already racked up four successful defenses, including a dominant win over Kai Kara-France at UFC 317. But inside T-Mobile Arena, the Brazilian walks into a very different and much more dangerous challenge.

Ahead of the anticipated flyweight showdown on December 6th, the reigning champion is pulling most of the fan votes to get it done again. According to Oddshark, Pantoja sits at -265 as the favorite, while Van comes in as a +200 underdog. So it looks like the oddsmakers favor the Brazilian. But let’s hear from the experts who have outlined their hopes and expectations for the big event.

UFC experts who picked Alexandre Pantoja to win the UFC 323 co-main event 

Popular MMA YouTuber and journalist James Lynch dropped a new video where fighters from different promotions, along with a few coaches, shared their predictions. He started things off with flyweight contender Brandon Royval. 

“I think Pantoja—they don’t call him ‘The Cannibal’ nickname for no reason, man. The guy could take an ass-whooping for sure, too. I think probably the more likely outcome is Pantoja goes and gets it done.” Raw Dawg said.

Royval has experience sharing the octagon with both fighters, and because of that, he might be the most credible insider when it comes to making a prediction. And according to his analysis, it’s true that Pantoja has an excellent chin and can definitely take some shots. ‘The Cannibal’ proved that in his fight against Brandon Moreno at UFC 290, where he absorbed damage and still came back stronger. Echoing a similar thought process, Jamahal Hill also picked the reigning champion to come out on top at UFC 323.

In Lynch’s video, the former 205 lbs champ said, “If Pantoja can put him down. Pantoja all day. But if Josh can stay on his feet, we got a really good fight. I like Josh’s chances if he could keep it standing. But that’s a tough task. Plus, Pantoja can crack too.”

Alexandre Pantoja might be one of the best grapplers in the UFC right now, but he also carries real power in his hands. Out of Pantoja’s 30 victories, he has knocked out 8 opponents, and you can’t forget the way he faceplanted Matt Schnell with that overhand right in round one of their 2019 Fight Night bout. Because of that, even Merab Dvalishvili’s coach isn’t interested in betting against him.

Merab’s head coach, John Wood, added onto Lynch’s video, “I would stick with Pantoja on this one, just from experience, just from toughness, just from being around the block so many times. He’s just a guy that, again, I don’t bet against anymore.”

As the Syndicate MMA coach explained, youth might be on Joshua Van’s side, but Alexandre Pantoja isn’t some ancient relic. The current champion is 35 years old and still very much in his prime. Add the experience on top of that, and you’re looking at a champion who could easily go down as one of the greatest in his division. That’s why Wood has also shown interest in seeing a Pantoja vs. Merab superfight in the future.

However, while fans and experts aren’t exactly eager to pick against the current flyweight champ, the support behind Joshua Van is growing fast.

Joshua Van is getting some solid backing to defeat ‘The Cannibal’ 

‘The Fearless’ earned the spot as Pantoja’s next opponent because he made himself undeniable. Joshua Van beat two big names in just a 21-day span, taking out Bruno Silva at UFC 316 and then a prime 125-pound title challenger, Brandon Royval, at UFC 317 back-to-back. After those two performances, fans and experts started believing that if anyone could dethrone Pantoja, it might be him.

Because of that, Ramiz Brahimaj said on James Lynch’s video, “I gotta go Texas with this one. I live in Texas; I gotta support Joshua Van.”

Then came Anthony Hernandez’s coach, Jim West, who added, “It comes down to whether he starts to mix in his grappling and how well Pantoja mixes in his grappling, or if he gets sucked into that crowd pleaser. If he gets sucked into that crowd pleaser, I think Van wins. I think he wins dramatically.”

And that’s another spot-on analysis. If Pantoja decides to stand and trade with Van just to give the crowd a barn burner, then Van might actually become the second-youngest UFC champion. The Myanmar-born fighter throws bombs, and while they might not crack ‘The Cannibal’s chin, they’ll definitely leave their marks.

Then the new featherweight sensation Steve Garcia only had a few words to offer, saying, “Let’s go, Joshua Van,” which is pretty crisp and sharp support for the challenger.

Well, at the end of James Lynch’s video, the champion walked away with a whopping 12-4 lead in the overall predictions, clearly spelling out the favorite’s position. That said, do you think Alexandre Pantoja gets it done against Joshua Van? Let us know in the comments section below.