Joshua Van (born October 10, 2001), is a Burmese and American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

currently competing in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC), where he is the first Burmese fighter to sign with the promotion. As of July 1, 2025, he is #1 in the UFC flyweight rankings.

Background

Van was born in

Hakha Hakha (, ; formerly rendered Haka) is the capital of Chin State in Myanmar. Hakha is located in the northeast of Chin State, with a total area of about . The city of Hakha is located on a plateau at more than above sea level. Although relative ...

Chin State Chin State (, ) is a state in western Myanmar. Chin State is bordered by Sagaing Division and Magway Division to the east, Rakhine State to the south, the Chattogram Division of Bangladesh to the west, and the Indian states of Mizoram to th ...

, Myanmar to a family of five siblings. Due to a country ridden with military and political conflict, his family decided moved to Malaysia at the age of ten in search of better opportunities. In 2013, at the age of twelve, Van and his family migrated to

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, where they began building a new life.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Van made his professional MMA debut in 2021, He fought exclusively for Fury Fighting Championship, where he acquired a 7-1 recording including in the main event of Fury FC 72 on December 18, 2022, where he submitted Cleveland McLean in the second round to win the promotion's Flyweight title.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Before his debut, Van was scheduled to face Kevin Borjas on August 8, 2023, at Dana White's Contender Series 57, but he was pulled in order to face Zhalgas Zhumagulov at UFC on ABC 5 on June 24, 2023. He won the fight by split decision. The bout between Van and Borjas was rescheduled on November 11, 2023, at UFC 295. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Van faced Felipe Bunes, replacing Denys Bondar on January 13, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 234. He won the fight by second-round technical knockout. Van was scheduled to face Lucas Rocha, replacing Jose Johnson on April 6, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 240. However, Rocha withdrew due to injury and the bout was scrapped. Van was scheduled to face

Su Mudaerji Su Mudaerji ( zh, 苏木达尔基; ; born January 20, 1996), sometimes written as Sumudaerji, is a Chinese professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight and Bantamweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

on June 1, 2024, at UFC 302. However, Su pulled out in late April due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Tatsuro Taira. In turn, both fighters were moved to UFC on ESPN 58 on June 15, 2024 and Van ended up being scheduled to face Tagir Ulanbekov instead. However, the bout was cancelled when Ulanbekov weighed in at 129.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. Van faced Charles Johnson on July 13, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 59. He lost the fight via knockout in the third round. Van faced Édgar Cháirez, replacing Kevin Borjas on September 14, 2024, at

UFC 306 ''UFC 306: O'Malley vs. Dvalishvili'' (also known as ''Noche UFC 2'' and branded as ''Riyadh Season Noche UFC'' for sponsorship reasons) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 14, ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Van faced Cody Durden on December 7, 2024, at

UFC 310 ''UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 7, 2024, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States. Backgroun ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Van was scheduled to face Bruno Gustavo da Silva on March 8, 2025, at

UFC 313 ''UFC 313: Pereira vs. Ankalaev '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 8, 2025, at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States. Background A U ...

. However, Silva pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Road to UFC Season 2 flyweight winner Rei Tsuruya. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Van's bout with Bruno Gustavo da Silva was re-scheduled and took place on June 7, 2025 at

UFC 316 ''UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 7, 2025, at the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey, United States. Background The event marked the ...

. Van won the fight by technical knockout late into the third round. Van stepped in on three weeks short notice to face former LFA Flyweight Champion and

UFC Flyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

challenger

Brandon Royval Brandon Matthew Royval (born August 16, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Royval has also formerly compet ...

at UFC 317 on June 28, 2025, after

Manel Kape Manuel Pedro Gomes (born November 14, 1993), known as Manel Kape, is an Angolan-born Portuguese professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since ...

was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a broken foot. Van won the fight against Royval by unanimous decision. This fight earned him his first '' Fight of the Night'' award. Van and Royval landed a total of 419 significant strikes, which broke the record for most significant strikes landed in a three-round UFC fight and flyweight bout.

Championships and accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (One Time) ** Highest significant strikes landed per minute in UFC history (8.86) **Highest striking differential in UFC Flyweight division history (2.5) **Second most significant strikes landed in UFC Flyweight division history (1097) ***Fourth most total strikes landed in UFC Flyweight division history (1374) **Second highest significant strike accuracy in UFC Flyweight division history (56.8%) **Tied (

Deiveson Figueiredo Deiveson Alcântara Figueiredo (born December 18, 1987) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has also competed in the Flyweight divis ...

& Tatsuro Taira) for the fifth longest win streak in UFC Flyweight division history (5) *Fury Fighting Championship ** Fury FC Flyweight Championship (One time; former)

Mixed martial arts record

, Win , align=center, 15–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 317 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 , Bruno Gustavo da Silva , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:01 ,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Rei Tsuruya , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Cody Durden , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Édgar Cháirez , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 , Charles Johnson , KO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Namajunas vs. Cortez , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:20 ,

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Felipe Bunes , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:31 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Kevin Borjas , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 295 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Zhalgas Zhumagulov , Decision (split) , UFC on ABC: Emmett vs. Topuria , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Cleveland McLean , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fury FC 72 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:49 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Paris Moran , TKO (punches) , Fury FC 67 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:36 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Mario Suazo , Submission (calf slicer) , Fury FC 62 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:23 ,

Castle Rock, Colorado Castle Rock is a home rule town that is the county seat and the most-populous municipality of Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The town’s population was 73,158 at the 2020 census, a 51.68% increase since the 2010 census. Castle Ro ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Angelo Trujillo , KO (head kick) , Fury FC 60 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:36 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Francisco Obando , TKO (punches) , Fury FC 57 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:08 ,

Humble, Texas Humble ( ) is a city located in the Greater Houston, Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an Boomtown, oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Devon Jackson , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fury FC 55 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:58 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Chase Eastham , TKO (punches) , Fury FC 54 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:24 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Tony Esquivel , KO (knee to the body) , Fury FC 52 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:14 ,

, United States ,

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van, Joshua Living people 2001 births People from Chin State American male mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists 21st-century American sportsmen Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Burmese emigrants to the United States

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

See also

Notes

References

External links