Coach Conversation | Crypto.com UFC 331: Joshua Van vs Alexandre Pantoja 2

COACH CONVERSATION

Kyte: We did this one ahead of their first fight last December, so it only made sense for us to run it back again now that they’re fighting for a second time because I think a lot has changed.

On the technical side of things and the skill side of things, I don’t think too much has changed in terms of what each guy does best, but I think the dynamic of the matchup has completely flipped.

Watch Crypto.com UFC 331 On Paramount+

Chartier: Yes.

Kyte: I think it’s one of those weird instances where both guys have a ton of pressure — like external, “something to prove” weight on them. I think this is a big “show you can beat this guy” moment for Van, and a “show you can come back from this injury and still be world-class” fight for Pantoja.

There just feels like there is a lot of pressure on both sides here.

Chartier: And it’s a lot more interesting than the first time because I think the first time, Van kind of got thrown in quick because of a good performance and a lack of other options.

Kyte: Yeah, it was a real opportunistic title shot.

Chartier: And now you’re like, “Okay, he just beat another guy with kinda the same style as Pantoja…”

Don't Miss Any Fan Events With The Crypto.com UFC 331 Fight Week Guide

Kyte: Yeah, I think the Taira fight is super-important to this fight.

Chartier: And so I think the pressure before was on Van, but he had nothing to lose, and Pantoja was going in there full of confidence. Now, I think Pantoja has been sitting out, stewing on this for nine months, and he has to come back and prove that it was a fluke, prove that “I’m still the champion; that was just a crazy accident.”

Kyte: I completely agree, and I also think that even if you take the narrative side of it away and it’s just down to competition, it’s “Can you beat this 24-year-old that has been lights out for the last two years?”

Van started his winning streak at Noche UFC two years ago — UFC 306, beating Edgar Chairez — and since then, he’s had some great performances, been through some adversity, had some finishes, and continued to win. He comes out in his title fight, is close to going down 0-2 and figures it all out to not just come back and win but earn the finish.

He feels like he’s on a different level right now.

Chartier: That’s a big shift in the dynamic between this one and the last one: (1) he gets to walk second, and (2) I still think he has nothing to lose because yeah, he loses his title, but one more win and he gets another title fight.

TUESDAY: Dana White's Contender Series Week 6 Preview

Kyte: If he loses and it’s not super-competitive — if he gets washed and Pantoja does to him what he did to Kai Asakura where he takes him down, gets on his back and subs him out inside of two, people go, “It was just a fluke and he beat another younger contender that was in there too soon” and we get all of that s***.

He’d get back into the mix again quickly, but you don’t want to have the fluke call; you don’t want to be the guy on that end, so you have to go out and prove that it wasn’t. Whereas right now, Pantoja can go into it saying, “That was a fluke and I’m gonna prove it,” and if you don’t, it doesn’t really matter because you had your chance to get it back and the kid still beat you, fair and square, straight up.

Chartier: I’m more excited for this one than I was the first one.

Kyte: I’m curious to see if he’s too emotional out of the gate on Saturday because he gets out in that first fight more aggressively than I thought he would. He was back to being the “right in your face, I wanna smash on you” guy where he’s throwing hands heavy looking to get into his takedowns and Van has…

Van has been a 24-year-old [pest] towards him, and I love it, genuinely. He’s been chirping at him, playing the role of 24-year-old champion talking s*** to his elders, and I want to see if that throws Pantoja off a little, brings out the overly aggressive side that Parrumpa (Marcos DaMatta, Pantoja’s head coach) has worked to coach out of him.

If he spends this whole week around him in L.A. and Van is beaking nonstop about, “You’re too old, too slow; I’m gonna show you! This is my belt,” do you shake him enough that he comes out and makes some mistakes?

NOCHE UFC REWIND: Prelim Results | Main Card Results | Official Scorecards| Bonus Coverage

Chartier: Yeah, does he get emotional?

Kyte: And, to the rust side, you haven’t fought in just under a year, and then you come out emotional and go too hard in the first round and hit a wall? Then maybe you can’t go all five rounds at a good clip, and we know Van can; we just saw him do it in May.

I also don’t think any of this impacts Van either; I think he not only relishes this stuff, but he doesn’t know it shouldn’t be like this, and I say that to him every time we talk: “It’s not supposed to this easy; it doesn’t often work out like this.”

But to him, this is exactly how it’s supposed to go: you win your fights, move forward, fight for the belt, win the belt, defend the belt; that’s the progression to him and they’re all just individual fights that he’s out here trying to win. He almost doesn’t see, doesn’t feel any of the pressure that comes with being a champion because it’s just all come together for him so quickly and, in a sense, effortlessly.

Chartier: Yeah, it’s crazy.

Best Trait of Each Fighter

Kyte: Okay, so what’s the best trait of each guy?

MORE: Watch Crypto.com UFC 331 Countdown

Chartier: With Pantoja, it’s obviously his experience and his grappling; same as last time probably.

With Van, now I can add in his confidence, but then obviously it’s his boxing. He’s real crisp with his combinations, he’s efficient with it — he doesn’t get out of position with it a lot and he’s not one of those power punchers that chases knockouts; he chases touches and it looks like he could do it for 10 rounds.

Kyte: He’s so quick and varied, and the way he mixes things up, fully invests in taxing the body every time out is so impressive.

Kyte: Yeah, I think for him it’s replicate the Taira fight. If and when you get taken down — and he's gonna get taken down — sell out on defense, stay safe, and then start again next round. He won the second, had him on the brink in the third, and then even after losing the fourth, he came back again and got him out of there.

So I think you take that game plan and replicate: stay safe when you get taken down, don’t make dumb positional mistakes, and then get to work on the feet when you can.

Chartier: Yep.

Kyte: And for Pantoja, I think you’re absolutely correct that he has to — not push in the sense of taking unnecessary chances to find finishes, but he can’t be content hanging out.

WATCH: Full Fight | Joshua Van vs Tatsuro Taira

Chartier:  Don’t agree to his pace.

Kyte: And don’t be happy grinding, chipping away from the top if you get him to the ground. He needs to be working to advance, needs to be putting him to dilemmas where he’s either going to get punished or makes the choice to give up his back.

He can’t just hang out because Van will come out the next round, stuff a takedown, and beat you up. Because even if you get him down — that was the second round with Taira, right? He took him down, is in control on the ground, but then Van gets up in the last 30 seconds…

Chartier: Drops him.

Kyte: Clobbers him and wins the round on all three scorecards.

X Factor

Kyte: What’s the X-factor in this one?

Chartier: Pantoja is obviously really good at back attacks. Taira was able to take him down quite a bit, but Van was really good at not letting him take his back. Is he able to do that same thing with someone as elite as Pantoja?

I don’t think you can compare Taira’s back entries and attacks to Pantoja’s, so he showed competence there, but can he do it against someone like Pantoja? I think that could have a big factor on if he wins the fight.

Watch Every Episode Of Crypto.com UFC 331 Embedded

Kyte: 100 percent.

Chartier: You’ll see it in the first round too. If he gets taken down and all of a sudden, he gets to his back — if he can do it in the first round, he can probably still do it in the fifth, so I’m really interested to see if he can combat that.

Kyte: It’s the Kai Kara-France fight — Pantoja came out and he shot in under 30 seconds, dumped him, and worked around to his back, and that was it; you knew that was going to be the whole fight. Kai may have been able to defend, stay safe for a round, maybe even stuff one or two, but you knew that when Pantoja wanted to, he was going to get to the back and Kai was in trouble.

So again, you’re 100-percent correct.

He’s gonna get taken down, Pantoja is gonna get connected at some point, so can you avoid that dude getting on your back? We talk about how great Aljamain Sterling is at taking the back and back control — and he is, for sure — but I also think Pantoja doesn’t get enough love for his abilities there too.

Chartier: Yeah, I agree.

Kyte: And if he gets there, he’s winning that round and your entire goal is to not get submitted.

And then like you said, if he can do it in Round 1, he can do it the rest of the way unless you make him pay, and the really difficult part is that he may only need one takedown per round to just shut you down.

Subscribe To Paramount+ For Exclusive UFC Content

Like, there is a world where this Van can’t contend with the grappling, Pantoja dominates him on the canvas and we’ve got a new, old champion. Not allowing that to happen is really difficult, but this is where he gets the chance to show why he’s world champion.

Chartier: Yeah, I can’t wait for it.

Kyte: Me neither. Thanks for this, Coach.

Chartier: Anytime, Brother.