Tonight, the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, plays host to UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2.
In the main event, Joshua Van will defend his Flyweight Championship against Alexandre Pantoja. The first time they met, Pantoja injured his elbow and the fight ended in 26 seconds.
We spoke with Big Brother 28 houseguest, former UFC fighter turned trainer Kamuela “Kamu” Kirk and he gave us his picks for the big fights on tonight’s card.
Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja 2 — Flyweight Championship
Kamuela “The Jawaiian” Kirk: That’s a tough fight. I know that Pantoja is actually the underdog going into this fight and Van is the favorite. I’m not sure I agree with it. It’s hard because I thought that Pantoja was gonna win the first time and then obviously we saw that freak thing happen where Van blocked and shoved the kick and then Pantoja posted and broke his arm, or dislocated his elbow, whatever happened. It’s hard to say how he’s gonna bounce back. He’s only getting older,
So, it’s hard to say. I love Van. My heart says Van but I think I’m actually slightly leaning towards Pantoja for the win. Van is a dog but Pantoja is just so good. I don’t want to count him out yet. Pantoja has not given us a reason to count him out yet. So, until he shows up and looks old or looks slow, he’s hard to bet against.
Winner: Joshua Van
Patricio Pitbull vs. Dooho Choi
Kamuela “The Jawaiian” Kirk: I think Superboy. I got Superboy. You know, Pitbull is solid. He’s a tank. He just hits hard. He moves well but yeah, I got Superboy.
Winner: Dooho Choi
Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf
Kamuela “The Jawaiian” Kirk: Steveson, for sure. He’s a freak, man. He’s a monster. Very talented, crazy bright future.
Winner: Gable Steveson
Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy
Kamuela “The Jawaiian” Kirk: “Another very, very interesting fight. Since Ruffy has left his camp, he’s looked phenomenal. We saw him get out-wrestled and out-grappled against BSD (Benoit Saint Denis] but that was because he wasn’t really opening up on the feet a whole lot. He was being reserved because he respected BSD’s wrestling so much. I think now that he’s with Volk, I think his movement is going to be solid. I think he’s going to open up a lot more. With that said, dude, it’s hard to go against Arman, dude. Arman Tsarukyan is a monster. He’s well-rounded. It’s gonna come down to: Is Arman gonna be able to take Ruffy to the floor? And I think he does, dude. I’m a huge fan of Ruffy but I think I’m gonna lean towards Arman for this fight.
Winner: Arman Tsarukyan
Alonzo Menifield vs. Iwo Baraniewski
Kamuela “The Jawaiian” Kirk: You know, I haven’t actually looked at that fight too closely. I’d have to… honestly, man, I don’t know, dude. I don’t really have a pick for that. I haven’t really studied that one too much or thought too much about it.
Winner: TBD
