Joshua Van
"The Fearless"
15-2-0
VS
2026-09-19
UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2
Flyweight
Alexandre Pantoja
"The Cannibal"
30-5-0
LIGHTGBM PREDICTION
Joshua Van 'The Fearless'
77.9% CONFIDENCE
How It Ends
52%
Decision
34%
KO / TKO
14%
Submission
Decision52.0%
KO / TKO34.0%
Submission13.9%
If it's a finish, which round
Round 134.0%
Round 227.7%
Round 3+38.3%
A separate model trained only on how fights end (not who wins) — 48% estimated chance this fight is finished rather than going to a decision.
Why LightGBM leans this way
Joshua Van
Alexandre Pantoja
Age edge (significant gap)
Matchup -11.49
20%
Net striking dominance
Matchup +1.80
12%
Experience edge (total fights)
Matchup -18
11%
Defensive skill edge
Matchup 0.06
5%
Strike rate delta r1 to r3
Joshua Van -3.00
5%
Age
Alexandre Pantoja 36.4 yrs
5%
Head-strike accuracy edge
Matchup 9%
3%
Avg takedowns attempted
Joshua Van 1.81
3%
Age
Joshua Van 24.9 yrs
3%
Strike rate delta r1 to r3
Alexandre Pantoja +0.15
3%
Fights in last 2 years
Joshua Van 6
2%
Sub attempts/fight
Alexandre Pantoja 0.59
2%
Submission threat edge
Matchup -0.24
2%
Strikes absorbed/min
Alexandre Pantoja 3.43
2%
← pushes toward Joshua Van pushes toward Alexandre Pantoja →
Bars show each factor's SHAP contribution to this specific prediction — how much it pushed the win probability toward one fighter, given everything else the model knows. Percentages are each factor's share of the total push across the top 30 factors.

Joshua Van

Win Streak
7
Finish Rate
60%
Avg Duration
13.2m
Last 5 fights (most recent first)
W KO
W KO
W DEC
W KO
W DEC
Height: 165 cm
Weight: 125 lbs
Reach: 165 cm
Stance: Orthodox

Alexandre Pantoja

Win Streak
N/A
Finish Rate
40%
Avg Duration
13.9m
Last 5 fights (most recent first)
L KO
W SUB
W SUB
W DEC
W DEC
Height: 165 cm
Weight: 125 lbs
Reach: 170 cm
Stance: Orthodox
Head-to-Head Stats
Joshua Van
ADVANTAGE
Alexandre Pantoja
Striking Accuracy
56.9%
+6.3%
50.7%
Strikes Landed/Min
6.80
+3.16
3.64
Strikes Absorbed/Min
4.78
+1.36
3.43
Striking Defense
57.6%
+9.1%
48.5%
Takedown Accuracy
46.5%
+0.5%
46.0%
Takedown Defense
71.2%
+2.2%
68.9%
Knockdowns/Fight
0.59
+0.43
0.16
Avg Control Time (sec)
50.81
+49.45
100.26
Strikes Per Round
30.49
+12.94
17.55
Head Strike %
72.5%
+9.4%
63.1%
Body Strike %
18.1%
+3.2%
21.3%
Leg Strike %
9.4%
+6.2%
15.6%
Last 5 Win Rate
100.0%
+20.0%
80.0%
Last 5 Finish Rate
60.0%
+20.0%
40.0%