Absolutely no one saw this coming. Alexandre Pantoja was supposed to defend his title for the fifth time, and many saw him do it pretty comfortably, with the grit and composure that made him the betting favorite against rising contender Joshua Van. But the fight ended almost as soon as it began.

Initially, both men came out aggressively, and things just went downhill from there. Pantoja threw a head kick. Van caught it, dumped the champion to the mat. Just 26 seconds into the opening round, Pantoja fell backward onto his left arm, which snapped on impact, forcing an immediate stoppage. While tragic for Pantoja, it only did great things for Van.

Joshua Van nearly breaks Jon Jones’ record

It was a heartbreaking scene, and while talk of a rematch surfaced instantly, Alexandre Pantoja faces a long recovery before anything can materialize. In the meantime, Joshua Van has inevitably reaped the benefits of the freak result—even if this wasn’t the way he hoped to win a world title. With the victory, the 24-year-old now stands as the second-youngest champion in UFC history.

“Joshua Van now the second youngest #UFC Champion: (Jon Jones #1: 23 yrs 8 months),” revealed Jed I. Goodman. On March 19, 2011, at UFC 128, 23-year-old Jon Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history by destroying legendary champion Maurício “Shogun” Rua.

Fighting in Newark, New Jersey, Jones used his record 84.5-inch reach, spinning elbows, oblique kicks, and flying knees to dominate from the opening bell. He dropped Shogun repeatedly, controlled him on the ground, and finished the fight at 2:37 of Round 3 with a brutal knee to the body and ground-and-pound TKO.

The victory shocked the MMA world and marked the beginning of one of the most dominant title reigns ever. While Van must be celebrating his win, Pantoja isn’t willing to give up.

Alexandre Pantoja issues a statement after UFC 323

After the freak accident, the former flyweight champion issued a statement addressing the situation. Despite the frightening slow-motion replay that showed his elbow twisting unnaturally during a grappling exchange, Pantoja remained composed as he headed to the hospital for evaluation.

Posting on Instagram, the 35-year-old reassured supporters that the setback wouldn’t define him. “I’ve been through worse,” Pantoja wrote, emphasizing the toughness that made him one of the most respected champions at 125 lbs. He vowed to return to form as soon as possible. “I’ll come back even stronger, you can be sure of that.” He ended his message with a heartfelt note: “Thank you for the messages.”

“No matter what happens, I don’t see him coming back anytime soon. I think there would be a [title] defense before he comes back,” Dana White said at the UFC 323 presser. Contrary to what many thought, Panotja dislocated his shoulder and not his elbow. Dana White admitted as much, too. Both he and Megan Olivi confirmed that the doctors backstage put it back in before Pantoja was transported to the hospital.

Having said that, it appears Joshua Van benefited immensely from the Alexandre Pantoja fight. But what did you think about the accident? When do you see the Brazilian coming back?