Joshua Van could be the UFC’s next star after this past weekend

On June 7th at UFC 316, Joshua Van (15-2) was getting ready to make the walk hoping he’d be able to break into the flyweight rankings. Van had won three fights in a row after suffering a setback against Charles Johnson last July. Van was ready to take that next step in his career and the 23-year-old wanted a number by his name.

He put on a helluva performance completely beating down Bruno Silva on his way to scoring a third round TKO. It was a clean performance and it vaulted Van into the top fifteen. Then, Van got the call for the opportunity of a lifetime. Brandon Royval (17-8) needed a new opponent.

The number one flyweight contender was supposed to have a title eliminator against Manel Kape at UFC 317 just three weeks after Van’s fight against Silva. However, Kape suffered an injury and the promotion wanted to keep Royval on The International Fight Week card.

Royval said he was down to fight Van and Van took the fight without hesitation. Three weeks ago, this man wasn’t ranked and now he had the opportunity to jump to the top of the UFC’s flyweight division.

The UFC’s Next Potential Star

Van put on a clinic in the first round against Royval. His boxing looked incredibly crisp and he landed the bigger shots leading to him taking the first round. Royval lived up to his “Raw Dawg” name in the second round and he threw an incredible amount of volume at a very game Joshua Van and I, like many watching, had the fight 1-1 entering the third.

Van stood in the pocket and traded with Royval throughout the third. Van kept landing the bigger shots, but Royval threw with so much volume that it was really anyone’s fight. In the final fifteen seconds, they both just bit down on their mouthpieces and threw everything they had. Van was able to drop and hurt Royval badly and that moment sealed the fight for him at UFC 317.

Van won the unanimous decision and in a three-week time frame, he went from unranked to now being the number one ranked flyweight in the world. After Alexandre Pantoja submitted Kai Kara-France in the flyweight title fight, the promotion had Van enter the cage and he faced off with Pantoja. Now, Van is lined up for a title shot and could become the second youngest champion in UFC history should he dethrone Pantoja later this year.