At just 23 years old, Joshua Van already fights like a seasoned veteran. But his journey from the streets of Myanmar to the bright lights of the UFC didn’t come easily. For Van, the grind wasn’t just about getting his hand raised inside the Octagon, it was about changing the lives of those who stood by him, especially his mother.
In a candid interview with UFC.com, Van had shared, “We give up a lot of fun and stuff like that, but I gained everything. Now I’m in a position where I have most of the things I wanted. So, after this fight, I’m going to buy my mom a house.” And true to his word, that’s exactly what he did after UFC 316. With a little help from UFC boss Dana White, who awarded Van a $156,000 fight purse, the rising star made a dream come true.
In a now-viral video shared on Instagram by ‘Home of Fight’, Van walked his mother into a new home filled with balloons, confetti, and the smiling faces of family and friends. As a Ricky Gervais quote played in the background—“Life is precious because you can’t watch it again”—Van handed her a bouquet, then popped champagne on the doorstep together. A moment that money can’t buy, but one a $156,000 UFC check certainly helped create!
After all, at UFC 316, Van tore through Bruno Silva in Newark, New Jersey, stopping him via TKO in the final seconds of Round 3. It was Van’s fourth straight win and his seventh inside the UFC. The performance earned him not just another victory, but another big step toward flyweight title contention.
But that moment in the cage? That wasn’t the real victory for Van. His story started in Myanmar, a country plagued by military unrest. After fleeing to Malaysia, and then finally landing in Houston, Van was a 12-year-old outsider, bullied, struggling with English, and feeling lost.
“From where I come from, you get picked on. It’s kind of like I fight everyday, and I got to the point where I enjoyed fighting.”, he once told MMA Junkie. Fighting became survival, and survival became purpose. Now, Joshua Van is rewriting his family’s future one fight at a time. He’s the first Burmese-born fighter to ever make the UFC walk. And with every win and every selfless act, he’s building a legacy that goes far beyond the cage.
So, what’s next for ‘The Fearless’? Well, the UFC boss was so impressed with the rising star that, along with his paycheck, he heaped praises upon him at the UFC 316 post-fight press conference, and there might already be a matchup on the horizon!
Dana White rewards Joshua Van’s “mentality” with a crucial matchup for his future at UFC 317
After demolishing Bruno Silva at UFC 316, Joshua Van made one thing clear: he doesn’t want to sit on the sidelines. He wants to stay active. And guess who loved hearing that? Dana White.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, the UFC boss shared, “Anybody who talks like that and says I wanna fight as many times this year, it’s the greatest thing you can do for yourself.”
White even compared Van’s hunger to Khamzat Chimaev’s legendary run during Fight Island as he continued, “So, when that is your mentality and if you can win, I mean, look at Khamzat [Chimaev] when we were in Fight Island. He’s like, ‘I wanna fight again next weekend… I love it.”
And as a reward for his confidence, Van is reportedly penciled in for a clash against former title challenger, Brandon Royval. Due to Manel Kape suffering from an injury, ‘The Fearless’ will now take on Royval at UFC 317!
But Van isn’t blinking. The Burmese-born phenom thrives under pressure. And with Dana White’s full support, momentum on his side, and a fearless mindset, UFC 317 could be the night he breaks into the flyweight top 10. Is it too much, too soon? Or is Joshua Van about to prove that lightning can strike twice in one month? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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