The UFC Can't Control Joshua Van

Joshua Van won the UFC flyweight title at 24 years old in 26 seconds, got called a paper champion for five months, then beat undefeated grappler Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328 to end the argument. This is the full story of the UFC flyweight champion nobody in the sport can manage — from a refugee camp in Malaysia to the fastest championship schedule in modern MMA. Most champions fight twice a year. Joshua Van has fought eleven times in three years, took Brandon Royval on 21 days' notice and set the all-time UFC record for significant strikes in a three-round fight, and had to be physically stopped from competing injured by his own coaching staff, who held a meeting he wasn't in the room for. In this video we cover: • Born in Hakha, Chin State, Myanmar — and the decision his parents made that changed everything • How he learned to fight from Bruce Lee videos with no wrestling room, no judo club, no lineage • The first day at 4oz Fight Club in Houston that made him walk out of the building • Why the UFC pulled him off Dana White's Contender Series and signed him outright • The Charles Johnson knockout in Denver that had the entire division write him off • The 63-day turnaround, and four straight wins at roughly 91 days between fights • UFC 317 vs Brandon Royval: 419 combined significant strikes, an all-time UFC record • UFC 323: 26 seconds, Alexandre Pantoja's elbow, and the second-youngest champion in UFC history • The "paper champion" asterisk and the five months it followed him • UFC 328 vs Tatsuro Taira: four rounds underneath an 18-1 submission machine, finished in the fifth • Pantoja 2 at UFC 331 in Los Angeles, and why he asked for it himself Joshua Van is the first Burmese fighter ever signed by the UFC and the first Asian-born UFC champion. He is 17-2, 24 years old, five foot five with a 65-inch reach, and the entire machinery this sport uses to protect valuable fighters depends on the fighter wanting to be protected. He doesn't. CHAPTERS 0:00 The Phone Call — 21 Days' Notice 1:10 Champions Are Supposed to Be Assets 2:20 Hakha, Myanmar to Houston, Texas 3:45 4oz Fight Club and the Day He Walked Out 5:00 Skipping the Contender Series Audition 5:55 Zhumagulov, Borjas, Bunes — Three Fights, Eight Months 7:05 Denver: Knocked Out by Charles Johnson 8:20 Back in the Cage in 63 Days 9:35 UFC 317: The 419-Strike Record vs Brandon Royval 10:55 UFC 323: 26 Seconds and a World Title 12:05 The Paper Champion Asterisk 13:00 When His Own Corner Went Behind His Back 13:55 UFC 328: Five Rounds With Tatsuro Taira 15:10 Pantoja 2 Booked for UFC 331 16:00 Why There Is No Lever Left Who wins Van vs Pantoja 2 at UFC 331? Drop it in the comments. Subscribe for weekly deep dives on the fighters actually shaping the UFC. #JoshuaVan #UFC #MMA #UFC331 #Flyweight