Joshua Van shares bold prediction for his UFC 323 title fight against Alexandre Pantoja

Joshua Van has a bold prediction for his UFC 323 title fight against Alexandre Pantoja on Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Van is set to take on Pantoja for the flyweight belt in the co-main event in the final pay-per-view card of the year. Heading into the bout, Van is a +200 underdog while Pantoja is a -265 favorite on FanDuel.

Although Van is a sizable underdog, the flyweight contender has full confidence that he won’t just beat Pantoja, but will KO him at UFC 323 to become the new champ.

“I don’t have any game plan, to be honest,” Van said to Ariel Helwani. “It’s wherever the fight goes. You can make game plans and things like that, but when the fight comes, it can be a whole different game. Whatever he brings, I’ll be ready. If he wants to strike, we will strike. If he wants to go to the ground, we are ready for that too… (I’m going to) knock him out inside three rounds.”

Van knocking out Pantoja would be a surprise, as the UFC’s flyweight champion has never been knocked out in his MMA career.

Joshua Van is ready for anything at UFC 323

Although Joshua Van expects to KO Alexandre Pantoja, he knows the fight could be challenging early on.

Van knows Pantoja is a tough out and can be a difficult matchup. But he believes his ability to adjust his game plan and style mid-fight will help him get his hand raised.

“I don’t want to just focus on one thing. Wherever the fight goes,” Van added. “What we see on TV and what we see when we are locked in the cage, it’s different. I’m the type of guy to adjust to their styles when I’m in the cage. Whatever I adjust to what he brings that day, that’s how we are going to go fight day.”

Van enters the bout with a record of 15-2 and is coming off a decision win over Brandon Royval.