Athletes
Joshua Van's Climb Towards The Rankings
Flyweight Joshua Van Looks To Enter The Rankings With A Signature Win Over Cody Durden At UFC 310: Pantoja vs Asakura
The Thanksgiving turkey dinner came and went for UFC flyweight Joshua Van, but he doesn’t care.
“Forget the holiday,” he said. “I just want to fight. I'm a fighter, so that's all I want.”
Wish granted, as the 23-year-old makes the walk for the fourth time this year on Saturday against Cody Durden. It’s short of the six fights “The Fearless” wanted, but it will do.
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“Everything is good,” Van said. “I'm more than happy to stay active this year. I'm grateful for it.”
At the beginning of 2024, Van wasn’t sure he was going to get any fights beyond his January win over Felipe Bunes. That victory was his third in the UFC in seven months, and let’s just say no one was lining up to fight him. Bouts with Lucas Rocha, Sumudaerji, Tatsuro Taira and Tagir Ulanbekov all fell by the wayside for one reason or another, and it wasn’t until July that he returned to face Charles Johnson.
Van got stopped early in the third round, and all of a sudden, he was able to get fights again. In September, he had to dig deep to pull off a hard-fought decision win over Edgar Chairez, putting him at 4-1 in the Octagon, and all was well with the world again.
“Man, that fight was crazy,” said Van. “But if it wasn't for him holding the cage, then I would've knocked him out in the second round. The fight played out how it did, and I learned that I got the heart to push through.”
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Watching Van fight and hearing his approach to the game, it was already clear that he had that grit in his back pocket, but no fighter knows that for sure until they’re forced to play that card. Van was pushed into that position against Chairez, and he delivered.
“Going into that fight, I popped my knee, and he was kicking the s**t out of my calf,” he recalls. “And if you watch the fight, you can kind of see I was limping already in the first round. And even with that, coach was like, ‘Don't put ice because his opponent going to see.’ Even with that, we pushed through it. And then even when I almost got knocked out, when he threw that spinning backfist, a lot of people would go down, but we managed to not give up and fight through it.”
Joshua Van Starts 2024 Out With A TKO Win | UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Walker 2
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Joshua Van Starts 2024 Out With A TKO Win | UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Walker 2
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Van’s coach, Daniel Pineda, minced no words during the fight, but when it was over, he was proud of his charge. That doesn’t mean the recently retired Texan is taking it easy on Van now that his own career is over.
“I hate him,” laughed Van. “Somebody tell him to fight again because his coaching is crazy. He’s trying to kill us. Every day, I tell him to go back to fighting.”
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It’s tough love, but love nonetheless, and Pineda will be in the corner with Van this weekend in Las Vegas for a big fight against Durden, who remains underrated by many despite his number 14 ranking in the flyweight division. Van isn’t looking past his opponent, though, because the way he sees it, if he can’t beat Durden, he can’t eventually be the 125-pound champion.
“I look at myself as the world champion,” he said. “So before every fight I ask myself, if I'm going to be the champion, why am I scared to fight this guy? And it gives me a lot of confidence. Even in my Fury (FC) days, I asked myself, I'm going to be in the UFC, fighting the best guys in the world. Why am I supposed to fight with this guy? So, I'll ask myself that to give me confidence.”
If Van gets the W this weekend, he will likely end 2024 with a number next to his name, and that means he’s one step closer to realizing his ultimate goal. But, in the meantime, it’s all about fighting, fighting and more fighting.
“If it goes as planned, 2025 is the takeover year,” he said. “We’re going to stay busy just like we did this year, maybe busier. I want to stay as active as possible.”
No wonder why, when asked who his favorite fighter is on his UFC bio form, Van said himself. I asked him why he’s on the top of his list.
“Coming from where I come from, a street fighter to fighting at the highest level,” he said. “And it happened in less than four years. So the improvements that I made, I can't do nothing but be proud of myself. I almost fall in love looking at myself in the mirror. (Laughs) I love myself.”
UFC 310: Pantoja vs Asakura took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 7, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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