Joshua Van
The Fearless
Myanmar
New champ following opponent injury
Van won the UFC Flyweight Championship on Saturday, defeating Alexandre Pantoja via TKO (injury) at 0:26 of Round 1 at UFC 323 in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
There's nothing to say about this fight from a technical standpoint. Van blocked an early head kick from Pantoja, and the latter appeared to snap his arm near the elbow as he attempted to brace himself upon falling to the mat. Just like that, Van is a UFC champion at age 24. His first title defense is most likely going to come against Tatsuro Taira, who became the first man to stop Brandon Moreno earlier in the evening and was cage side for this one. But a rematch against Pantoja, when healthy, is likely also in the company's 2026 plans.
There's nothing to say about this fight from a technical standpoint. Van blocked an early head kick from Pantoja, and the latter appeared to snap his arm near the elbow as he attempted to brace himself upon falling to the mat. Just like that, Van is a UFC champion at age 24. His first title defense is most likely going to come against Tatsuro Taira, who became the first man to stop Brandon Moreno earlier in the evening and was cage side for this one. But a rematch against Pantoja, when healthy, is likely also in the company's 2026 plans.
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Gets title shot at 24 years old
Van will take on Alexandre Pantoja for the UFC Flyweight Championship at UFC 323 on Dec. 6, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Van is in the midst of a five-fight winning streak, most recently defeated Brandon Royval in a Fight of the Night-winning effort back in June. Despite absorbing 215 significant strikes in three hard rounds, Van will be ready for a turnaround less than six months later. Van may very well be the future of the flyweight division given he's only 24 years old, but he'll likely enter this one against Pantoja as the underdog, given "The Cannibal" has nearly cleaned out the division with four consecutive title defenses.
Van is in the midst of a five-fight winning streak, most recently defeated Brandon Royval in a Fight of the Night-winning effort back in June. Despite absorbing 215 significant strikes in three hard rounds, Van will be ready for a turnaround less than six months later. Van may very well be the future of the flyweight division given he's only 24 years old, but he'll likely enter this one against Pantoja as the underdog, given "The Cannibal" has nearly cleaned out the division with four consecutive title defenses.
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.
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.