Athletes
Prospect To Watch | Joshua Van
Flyweight Joshua Van Gets His First Chance At A Ranked Opponent When He Faces Cody Durden At UFC 310: Pantoja vs Asakura.
At just 23 years old, Joshua Van is on the verge of a breakthrough in the UFC. The Myanmar native is 4-1 since entering the promotion and has quickly proven to be a high-level striker each time he’s made the walk.
This Saturday he faces the No. 14 ranked flyweight in Cody Durden, marking his first chance at entering the rankings. Durden, who is a decade older than Van, brings a 17-6-1 overall record and is coming off a submission win against Matt Schnell three months ago.
With a win over a veteran like Durden, Van’s likely to have a number by his name next week. It would surely be the biggest win of his young career and whether or not Van is successful this time around, it’s impressive that he’s already at this stage.
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Van is an exceptional talent on the feet, bringing elite counter boxing, power, and a special ability to make reads against his opponents. His defensive grappling is strong, especially during clinch scenarios, where he typically can break off and circle out to reset.
Prior to the UFC, Van fought under Fury FC, where he went 7-1 with all wins coming by finish.
He entered the Octagon for the first time on a week’s notice at UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Topuria against Zhalgas Zhumagulov in June 2023. The fight went the distance and after settling in, he walked Zhumagulov down with a constant high volume and pressure approach to earn the split decision victory.
Roughly five months later, Van fought Kevin Borjas at Madison Square Garden during UFC 295 last November. Much like his debut, Van seemed to be taking his time early, but Borjas dropped him in first round.
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Van brought more aggression in the second round, working the body and again using immense volume. Very few fighters attack the body like he does within mixed martial arts; just ask Borjas if it works. By the end of the contest, all three judges agreed on the outcome, with Van winning by unanimous decision after winning rounds two and three.
Following that performance, he made a quick turnaround against Felipe Bunes in what was the first UFC fight of 2024. Once again, Van dropped the first round on each of the judges’ scorecards. However, there might be a theme with him.
Former bantamweight champion Petr Yan is widely known for a similar tactical approach, where during the first round, he tends to be patient and make reads on his opponent, and as time goes on, he ramps up the pressure. In his fight with Bunes, Van did exactly that, bringing the fight straight to the Brazilian in the second round and, with a minute left, he unleashed body shots and knees to the head to collect his first UFC finish.
Van moved to 3-0, proving to be one of the most intriguing young talents in the entire promotion. He proceeded to have four consecutive fights canceled for a variety of reasons. After not being able to meet with Lucas Rocha on April 6, Sumudaerji or Tatsuro Taira on June 1, and Tagir Ulanbekov on June 15, he finally made it back to the Octagon against Charles “InnerG” Johnson in July.
After a competitive first two rounds with both athletes having great moments, Johnson came out swinging with way more pace to his strategy to begin the third round. He wobbled Van with a right hand before putting him down with a brutal uppercut to end the fight, giving Van his first UFC loss.
Just like anyone as young as Van, he was eager to rebound, and he did in a big way by fighting at Sphere in his last outing. Edgar Chairez took control of the bout early by hurting Van’s lead leg and bringing a variety of attacks.
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In the second round, the Myanmar native flipped a switch, hurting Chairez to the body with and almost finishing the fight right there. However, the Mexican landed a spinning back fist during one of the wildest exchanges you’ll ever see, making it a close round.
To close out the fight, it was Van who was fresher, putting Chairez on the back foot en route to another unanimous decision victory.
On Saturday, it’s arguably his toughest challenge yet, but there’s no evidence that shows he’s not ready for this. Van’s skill level leads many to believe, including myself, that he’s a clear future contender at 125 pounds, and being on another massive card, he has a chance to show the world.
With the combination of his young age and talent level, there aren’t too many fighters that I’m more excited to watch how their careers pan out.
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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