Joshua Van News

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 8, 2026

UFC 328 has its main event between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland official following the weigh-ins. Chimaev and Strickland tipped the scales in Newark on Friday morning. Each combatant hit the 185-pound mark before Saturday’s UFC Middleweight Championship fight.

Harry Kettle - May 8, 2026

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van wants the promotion to give Alexandre Pantoja a rematch when he’s healthy to return. This weekend, Joshua Van will try and silence his doubters when he goes head to head with Tatsuro Taira with the UFC flyweight championship on the line. The youngster has had to face questions ever since he won the world title, which came his way courtesy of a nasty injury sustained by Alexandre Pantoja.

Curtis Calhoun - May 7, 2026

Top UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape wasn’t a fan of Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira’s cordiality at the UFC 328 press conference. One of the most under-the-radar fights at UFC 328 is the co-headlining bout between flyweight champion Joshua Van and surging contender Tatsuro Taira. On a card headlined by the middleweight grudge match between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland, Van vs. Taira is a popular pick for potentially being the ‘Fight of the Night’ in Newark.

Harry Kettle - May 7, 2026

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van has expressed his joy over the growth of Asian mixed martial arts ahead of UFC 328. While he may have won the title as a result of an injury, Joshua Van is still widely considered to be one of the best flyweights on the planet right now. On Saturday night, he will defend the UFC flyweight championship for the very first time against top challenger Tatsuro Taira in the co-main event of UFC 328.

Cole Shelton - May 6, 2026

The UFC is in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday for a solid UFC 328 card that sees two title fights on the line, and in the co-main event, Joshua Van defends his flyweight title against Tatsuro Taira. Heading into the fight, Van is a +142 underdog while the challenger is a -186 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the bout at UFC 328, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the flyweight title fight. The pros believe Van will pull off the upset and retain his flyweight title.

Harry Kettle - March 27, 2026

Joshua Van believes he was the one to help really reignite interest in the UFC’s flyweight division. As we know, Joshua Van is the UFC flyweight champion. He is set to defend the belt at UFC 327 against Tatsuro Taira, in a fight that many believed should have been awarded to Manel Kape. Either way, Van is ready to prove that he is deserving of being world champion after getting the belt courtesy of an injury to Alexandre Pantoja in their own title clash.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 26, 2026

Manel Kape is intrigued by the flyweight title bout between Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira, and he believes the champion will retain. The UFC 327 co-headliner will feature Van vs. Taira inside Kaseya Center in Miami on April 11. Kape was hoping to have his name called for the title fight, but he’ll instead have a rematch with his Rizin rival Kyoji Horiguchi on June 20.

Harry Kettle - March 26, 2026

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van has claimed that Manel Kape lied about their UFC title fight falling through. Right now, Joshua Van is on top of the world. He is the king of the flyweight division, and he is gearing up to defend the belt for the first time when he collides with Tatsuro Taira in his next outing. Of course, many felt as if Manel Kape would be the one who got the call, but it didn’t quite come to fruition.

Dylan Bowker - February 24, 2026

Joshua Van is sitting at the top of the heap in the UFC’s flyweight ranks, and a fighter with a win over Alexandre Pantoja would love a cross-promotional throwdown with the reigning UFC kingpin Van someday. The combatant in question is Hiromasa Ougikubo, who bested Yuki Motoya at RIZIN Shiwasu no Cho Tsuwamono Matsuri to win the vacant RFF flyweight championship and the Rizin flyweight grand prix on December 30th. Ougikubo had mentioned heading into this recent fight that he wanted the public to see the Rizin flyweight Grand Prix champion as someone who could defeat the UFC champion. When contextualizing that with his prior win over ex-UFC champ Alexandre Pantoja from years ago on The Ultimate Fighter, Ougikubo said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

Harry Kettle - February 23, 2026

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van is surprised to be fighting Tatsuro Taira as opposed to Manel Kape at UFC 327. As has now been confirmed, Joshua Van will defend his UFC flyweight championship at UFC 327 against Tatsuro Taira. Taira was one of a handful of fighters thought to be in the mix for this bout, including Alexandre Pantoja depending on his recovery, and perhaps the clearest contender Manel Kape.

Curtis Calhoun - February 20, 2026

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van will fight one of the division’s most exciting young contenders in his first title defense later this year. Despite being weeks removed from his UFC flyweight championship win, titleholder Joshua Van wants to waste little time in booking his first title defense. Van defeated Alexandre Pantoja to win the belt at UFC 323 after Pantoja suffered an injury just minutes into their fight.

Curtis Calhoun - February 13, 2026

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van is hearing it from one of the division’s top contenders just weeks after his UFC 323 title win. Joshua Van capped off his historic run up the UFC flyweight rankings with a title win at UFC 323 over Alexandre Pantoja. Just seconds into their fight, Pantoja suffered an injury after being taken to the canvas during a grappling exchange, forcing the referee to step in and wave off the fight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 18, 2025

Reigning UFC Flyweight Champion Joshua Van has received another harsh warning from the man who could be his first challenger. Van captured the 125-pound gold due to unfortunate circumstances. His first world title opportunity against Alexandre Pantoja ended in just 26 seconds. Pantoja suffered a horrific arm injury and he could not continue.

Harry Kettle - December 15, 2025

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van has responded to Manel Kape’s title ambitions after UFC Vegas 112 last weekend. On Saturday night, Manel Kape made a real statement. He was able to quickly finish Brandon Royval in the main event of UFC Vegas 112, and in the process, he vaulted himself into contention for a world championship opportunity. Soon after, he officially called out Joshua Van and made it clear that he is coming for the title.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 14, 2025

Manel Kape had some words for Joshua Van following his emphatic UFC Vegas 112 victory. Kape and Brandon Royval entered the UFC Apex this past Saturday in hopes of moving one step closer to a flyweight title opportunity. Kape ended up being the one who made quite a statement. He scored a first-round knockout win that earned him a “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Harry Kettle - December 10, 2025

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier believes Joshua Van should defend his title against Tatsuro Taira prior to Alexandre Pantoja returning. Last Saturday night at UFC 323, Joshua Van became the new UFC flyweight champion. However, it happened under unfortunate circumstances, as Alexandre Pantoja suffered an arm injury that rendered him unable to continue less than a minute into the first round.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 9, 2025

Joshua Van has been under some scrutiny following UFC 323, but a retired fan favorite is coming to his defense. Van shared the Octagon with Alexandre Pantoja for just 26 seconds this past Saturday. Van was challenging for the UFC Flyweight Championship. Early on, Pantoja injured his shoulder while trying to break his fall. The fight was called off and Van was awarded the win.

Cole Shelton - December 8, 2025

The UFC had its final pay-per-view card of the year on Saturday as the promotion was in Las Vegas, Nevada, for UFC 323. The main event saw Merab Dvalishvili defending his bantamweight title in a rematch against Petr Yan. The co-main event saw Alexandre Pantoja defending his flyweight strap against Joshua Van. In the end, it was Yan who pulled off the upset as he dominated Dvalishvili in all five rounds to cruise to a lopsided decision win to reclaim his bantamweight title. Van, meanwhile, became the new flyweight champ as Pantoja suffered an arm injury not even a minute into the fight.