Joshua Van vows to indicate 'no respect in any respect' for UFC champ Alexandre Pantoja in anticipated title struggle

[ad_1] Joshua Van continues to realize momentum prefer it's going out of fashion.

The brand new No. 1-ranked UFC flyweight contender has emerged seemingly in a single day as certainly one of MMA's greatest breakout stars of 2025. Van's present five-fight win streak started this previous September, nevertheless not one of the 5 had been extra resounding than his newest — the 23-year-old went to conflict with one-time title challenger Brandon Royval at UFC 317, received a unanimous resolution, seized the baton because the Battle of the Yr frontrunner and positioned himself as the subsequent challenger to UFC champion Alexandre Pantoja.

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Regardless of the huge distinction in expertise between himself and Uncrowned's No. 4 pound-for-pound fighter on this planet Pantoja, Van is exceedingly assured in his skills forward of the huge alternative.

"There is no one like me," Van mentioned on Monday's version of "The Ariel Helwani Present." "The combating fashion that I deliver, the no respect — I do not give respect to no person in that cage. I respect [Pantoja] as a person, I respect what he is performed in our division. However after we struggle, there is not any respect in any respect.

"You know the way lots of people say that, 'He is good at this, he is the subsequent degree,' this and that? Have a look at Royval. Once they mentioned, 'Oh, his stress's going to be an excessive amount of' — I did not give him no respect when he was pressuring me. I do not give no respect. I keep calm, I am going to do my factor. It'll be the identical factor [against Pantoja]. I am not going to let him do his factor. And I really feel like lots of people, as a result of they know that his grappling is a lot, that they are so afraid of him taking them down, that they find yourself getting taken down."

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UFC 317 set the stage completely for the highest of the flyweight division with an unofficial match of types. Van's conflict in opposition to Royval straight preceded Pantoja's newest title protection over Kai Kara-France. Like Van, the champion additionally carried out brilliantly, ending Kara-France with a third-round rear-naked choke to notch his fourth consecutive protection of the 125-pound belt.

It was all a brand new expertise for the surging Van, who caught round inside Las Vegas' T-Cell Enviornment after his personal huge second in opposition to Royval.

"It was an excellent struggle, however my head wasn't all there," Van mentioned of his expertise sitting cageside for Pantoja's win. "I used to be so excited to be there. You gotta keep in mind, I by no means go to UFC occasions. I feel that was most likely my second time. ... For me to take a seat on the entrance row, my head wasn't there.

"Once I walked within the cage, I did not even know what to do. Joe Rogan requested me a query and I believed we had been performed. Shout out to the champ, man — he was like, 'Hey, we gotta do the faceoff.' I forgot concerning the faceoff! I believed after [Rogan] interviews me, we had been performed."

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Contemplating his youth, Van has already put collectively a wildly spectacular profession. Of his present five-fight stretch of victories, all occurred on numbered UFC pay-per-view occasions. Now if he can pull off the upset in opposition to Pantoja, Van will grow to be one of many youngest champions in promotional historical past, falling simply shy of topping Jon Jones' report set at age 23 in opposition to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in 2011.

Although he is but to struggle a full 5 rounds in MMA, Van nonetheless has championship expertise, having beforehand received the Fury FC flyweight title in 2023. That struggle punched Van's ticket to the UFC, and 9 fights later, he feels well-prepared to overthrow top-of-the-line pound-for-pound fighters on Earth.

"I am about to take that belt. [UFC 317] confirmed that I am assured, I am able to take him on," Van mentioned.

"I do not actually care concerning the faceoff. Folks wish to look laborious after they face off. I am like, 'Man, come on. We will struggle within the cage.'