Israel Adesanya sees a path to victory for Joshua Van.
The Burmese contender will be competing for the flyweight title in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 323 pay-per-view.
Van’s fight with champion Alexandre Pantoja did not appear to be on the cards at the start of 2025, when the challenger was coming off two wins over Edgar Chairez and Cody Durden. But two wins at back-to-back PPVs, the second of which came over ex-title challenger Brandon Royval, shot Van up the pecking order.
Despite his winning form, not many are expecting the 24-year-old to be the one who ends Pantoja’s dominant reign. But one man with experience winning title fights thinks he has spotted the key to Van’s potential success in Las Vegas.
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Can Joshua Van beat Alexandre Pantoja to become the UFC flyweight champion?
Israel Adesanya believes ‘nasty’ Joshua Van technique could trouble Alexandre Pantoja
Van beat Royval at UFC 317 just three weeks after he defeated Bruno Silva at UFC 316. Against ‘Raw Dawg’, who was the top contender at the time, the Burmese fighter displayed one technique that caught the eye of Adesanya.
The former two-time UFC middleweight champion reacted to some of Van’s highlights during his UFC 323 predictions video on YouTube.
“Look at him, in the pocket. Not even shy, stays right there,” Adesanya said while watching Van’s victory over Silva.
“He rarely kicks, but I like that because he’s got the hands. … He likes the chaos.”
When clips from Van’s victory over Royval came up, ‘The Last Stylebender’ did notice the effectiveness of one kick the Burmese title challenger was throwing.
“Oblique kick, too? Okay, that’s different. Oh! That’s nasty,” Adesanya said in response to a particularly brutal shot.
“Especially against Pantoja, that can change the game. That can change the game.
“That oblique kick, if he brings that in his arsenal (at UFC 323), that could definitely help him change this whole fight,” he added.
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Joshua Van could join Jon Jones and Jose Aldo in a top-three list at UFC 323
Van will be among some illustrious names if he can upset the odds and get the job done at UFC 323.
With a victory over Pantoja, the 24-year-old would go down as the second youngest champion in the promotion’s history.
Jon Jones beat Mauricio Rua at UFC 128 at the age of 23, making him the youngest titleholder to date. Pantoja would slot in behind ‘Bones’ and just ahead of legendary featherweight Jose Aldo, who also became champ at 24.
Rank these UFC 323 fighters based on their potential in the sport.
- Joshua Van – 24 years old (8-1 in the UFC)
- Payton Talbott – 27 years old (4-1 in the UFC)
- Tatsuro Taira – 25 years old (7-1 in the UFC)
- Maycee Barber – 27 years old (9-2 in the UFC)
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Achieving that feat will be easier said than done for Saturday’s challenger, however, as he is tasked with unseating a champion who is beginning to draw comparisons to the flyweight division’s greatest of all time, Demetrious Johnson.
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