Joshua Van
The Fearless
Myanmar
Rise to top continues
Van defeated Brandon Royval via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) at UFC 317 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
It's Van's third win of 2025 and his second win in a span of three weeks in what was a legitimate Fight of the Year contender. For now, a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus will have to do. This one came over the guy that entered the evening as the No. 1 ranked flyweight in the promotion. As is the case in every Van fight, it was a wild war. Royval tried to drown Van with volume, but Josh simply stood his ground and consistently beat his opponent to the punch. Van's boxing is elite. It would be nice to see him use a bit more head movement, but he's proven to be supremely durable, and the style works for him, so there's no reason to change it. Van has fought a ridiculous nine times since his June 2023 debut, going 8-1. It's going to be very hard for the UFC to deny Van, who won't be 24 years of age until October, the next shot at the UFC Flyweight Championship. Title holder Alexandre Pantoja and challenger Kai Kara-France went on to fight for gold later in the evening, and after Pantoja won in dominant fashion, Van faced off with him in the Octagon afterwards, all but confirming he'll get the next title shot.
It's Van's third win of 2025 and his second win in a span of three weeks in what was a legitimate Fight of the Year contender. For now, a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus will have to do. This one came over the guy that entered the evening as the No. 1 ranked flyweight in the promotion. As is the case in every Van fight, it was a wild war. Royval tried to drown Van with volume, but Josh simply stood his ground and consistently beat his opponent to the punch. Van's boxing is elite. It would be nice to see him use a bit more head movement, but he's proven to be supremely durable, and the style works for him, so there's no reason to change it. Van has fought a ridiculous nine times since his June 2023 debut, going 8-1. It's going to be very hard for the UFC to deny Van, who won't be 24 years of age until October, the next shot at the UFC Flyweight Championship. Title holder Alexandre Pantoja and challenger Kai Kara-France went on to fight for gold later in the evening, and after Pantoja won in dominant fashion, Van faced off with him in the Octagon afterwards, all but confirming he'll get the next title shot.
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Huge opportunity scheduled
Van is scheduled to compete against fellow flyweight Brandon Royval at UFC 317 in Paradise on June 28, according to Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Barely multiple days after Van defeated Bruno Silva to go 2-0 in 2025, Manel Kape fractured his right foot. He was scheduled to fight Royval at UFC 317, leaving the UFC flyweight division's No. 1 contender without an opponent. In under three weeks' notice and not even a month after his last fight, Van will step up. In just half a year, he has an opportunity to do something unthinkable, going from an unranked contender to a division's top challenger. Currently, it is Royval, with only one loss across his last six fights, with said defeat to UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja.
Barely multiple days after Van defeated Bruno Silva to go 2-0 in 2025, Manel Kape fractured his right foot. He was scheduled to fight Royval at UFC 317, leaving the UFC flyweight division's No. 1 contender without an opponent. In under three weeks' notice and not even a month after his last fight, Van will step up. In just half a year, he has an opportunity to do something unthinkable, going from an unranked contender to a division's top challenger. Currently, it is Royval, with only one loss across his last six fights, with said defeat to UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja.
Cruises as biggest favorite on card
Van defeated Bruno Silva via TKO (punches) at 4:03 of Round 3 at UFC 316 on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey.
ANALYSIS
On a card with a ton of massive favorites, Van was the biggest at upwards of -750. The juice appeared to be entirely justified following this performance. Van closed with a 125-76 edge in total strikes landed and was credited with three knockdowns. The toughness of Silva combined with referee Vitor Ribeiro's strange reluctance to pull the plug was the only reason this fight went as long as it did. Van won't be 24 years until October. He's fought a whopping eight times since his June 2023 UFC debut, going 7-1. That kind of workload is not a feasible option moving forward, however. Van will need to pick and choose his spots as he moves up the rankings.
On a card with a ton of massive favorites, Van was the biggest at upwards of -750. The juice appeared to be entirely justified following this performance. Van closed with a 125-76 edge in total strikes landed and was credited with three knockdowns. The toughness of Silva combined with referee Vitor Ribeiro's strange reluctance to pull the plug was the only reason this fight went as long as it did. Van won't be 24 years until October. He's fought a whopping eight times since his June 2023 UFC debut, going 7-1. That kind of workload is not a feasible option moving forward, however. Van will need to pick and choose his spots as he moves up the rankings.
Silva scheduled again
Van (undisclosed) is scheduled to compete against Bruno Silva in a flyweight fight at UFC 316 on June 7, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Before both Van and Rei Tsuruya fought at UFC 313, the former was supposed to fight Silva before his bout withdrawal. Van defeated Tsuruya and will look to do the same against Silva.
Before both Van and Rei Tsuruya fought at UFC 313, the former was supposed to fight Silva before his bout withdrawal. Van defeated Tsuruya and will look to do the same against Silva.
Strong run continues
Van defeated Rei Tsuruya via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at UFC 313 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
It was another brilliant effort from Van, who continues to show off all facets of his game. Van openly admitted that he only started training wrestling prior to his UFC debut. That came in June 2023. The fact he was able to step in here against a talented grappler in Tsuruya and stuff 17-of-21 takedown attempts is remarkable. He's a tremendous athlete with elite balance and an excellent gas tank. Offensively, Van is excels at pushing forward and stringing together combinations. It's an exciting package that is made even better by the fact he won't turn 24 years of age until October. Van improves to 6-1 in his first seven UFC bouts.
It was another brilliant effort from Van, who continues to show off all facets of his game. Van openly admitted that he only started training wrestling prior to his UFC debut. That came in June 2023. The fact he was able to step in here against a talented grappler in Tsuruya and stuff 17-of-21 takedown attempts is remarkable. He's a tremendous athlete with elite balance and an excellent gas tank. Offensively, Van is excels at pushing forward and stringing together combinations. It's an exciting package that is made even better by the fact he won't turn 24 years of age until October. Van improves to 6-1 in his first seven UFC bouts.
New opponent scheduled
Van is scheduled to compete against fellow flyweight Rei Tsuruya at UFC 313 in Las Vegas on March 8, according to Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Van was scheduled to fight Bruno Silva at UFC 313. However, the latter's event withdrawal resulted in an undefeated Tsuruya stepping up to compete against the former on March 8.
Van was scheduled to fight Bruno Silva at UFC 313. However, the latter's event withdrawal resulted in an undefeated Tsuruya stepping up to compete against the former on March 8.