Fighter Studies: Joshua Van

With UFC 310 this weekend, I feel now is a great time to do a fighter study on Joshua Van, one of my favourite prospects currently.

Name: Joshua Van

Age: 23

From: Hakha, Myanmar

Fighting out of Houston, Texas, United States

Record: 11-2

Height: 5’5”(165cm)

Reach: 65.0”(165cm)

Weight: 125

UFC ON ABC 5 v Zhalgas Zhumagulov

This is a big test for Joshua Van's debut fight, as Zhumagulov is a tough fighter who may not be amazing but will always have a close fight.

Zhumagulov started the fight the stronger with speed and pressure. Van clearly taking his time to get reads early.

Van showed good defence against an attempt at a takedown for Zhumagulov, which, from then on in the round, Van started to get a bit more comfortable.

Zhumagulov does get a quick takedown, but Van is straight back up and gets the fight back to striking for the last 20 seconds.

What you notice in this fight is that leg kicks were clearly apart of the game plan for Van as they were landing constantly and doing damage.

Van’s boxing is very crisp in this fight and you see it really pick up in the second round.

Van picks up the speed halfway through round 2 when he lands a head kick and backs Zhumagulov against the cage, and starts throwing hands, which nearly looks like the fight is going to be stopped but Zhumagulov is able to survive.

The jab of Van is very present in the fight and in the third you can see that a tired and hurt Zhumagulov can’t deal with it.

The fight goes to decision and Van takes it on his debut by split decision.

It was a solid performance from Van against a good opponent and you could see that he has a bright future after it. He grew into the fight, which is a good skill to have for a young fighter.

UFC 295 v Kevin Borjas

Van starts the first round slow which he tends to do. Borjas brings the energy and actually drops Van with a clean 1-2 down the middle.

Van shows good recovery for the rest of the round but you could tell he needed to switch on for the rest of the fight after clearly dropping the first round.

Van turns it up in the second round with his striking becoming more crisp and his work to the body starts where he does such great work.

Van starts to dominate the second round with his body work slowing Borjas down who has no answer to the constant work to the body.

In the third round Joshua Van sets up a beautiful double leg and dumps Borjas on the ground continuing his growth in his wrestling game.

He even tries to get a leg lock but nothing really comes from it and the fight returns to the feet.

Van took the the decision and looked real solid after the first round. Once Van turned up his pressure and volume Borjas just couldn’t handle it.

UFC Vegas 84 v Felipe Bunes

In this fight, you get to see Van deal with a decent height and reach disadvantage, which was good to see how he used his style to deal with it.

Van showed good takedown defence when Bunes attempted one, which continues to show his growth in his defence, considering he only started training wrestling just before making his debut, I believe.

He does get taken down late in the first round, but he stays active, and Bunes doesn’t get anything started on the ground.

Van steps it up in the second round with more pressure, which Bunes is not a fan of.

Van gets Bunes against the cage and tees off to the body, which is what he does really well and throws a few elbows which hurt Bunes.

Van gets his own takedown and throws ground and pound for a bit until he decides to stand up and get back to striking.

Van starts to land every strike he's throwing, whether to the head or body. Van’s combinations are landing very well and constantly, and Van lands a few strikes that knocks down Bunes.

Van gets the finish after chucking big ground and pound until the ref stops the fight.

Good finish from Van in this fight. He is such a good striker with his combinations and bodywork. He always tends to take the first round to get reads a bit like Petr Yan but always steps up in the second, and this time, he got a finish.

UFC Denver v Charles Johnson

Van struggled to deal with Johnson’s constant switching in the first round.

Van did defend takedowns well in the first with some nice sprawls.

The round ended alright for Van as he went to the body, but Most of the first, he found it hard to stay competitive as Johnson is so elusive.

Van has a solid start to the second round. He starts to pick up his pressure and goes to the body to counteract Johnson’s movement.

Van’s leg kicks were an effective weapon for him with Johnson not blocking them or dealing with them.

The second round was great for Van. His game plan starts to work with his bodywork and leg kicks, which slowed Johnson down.

Charles Johnson starts the third round fast, which Van doesn’t deal with well, and Van gets caught with a very well-timed uppercut and suffers his first loss in the UFC.

Although he got caught, I still feel you saw that Van was competing, especially in the second round, where his leg kicks and bodywork were very effective.

UFC Noche 306 v Edgar Cháirez

Both guys exchange leg kicks in the first round, and Cháirez has the better moments in the first when he knocks Van down when he gets caught with a 1-2 down the middle.

Van is able to recover and gets to the end of the first round to recuperate for the second round.

Van turns it on in the second round once he picks up the speed and gets into the pocket and starts landing heavy.

Van hurts Cháirez to the body and goes for the finish, and it looks like he is about to get it with constant strikes until Cháirez throws a wild spinning back fist, which catches Van and clearly hurts him, but Van shoots for the takedown and gets it to recover.

The fight gets back to the feet, where he gets caught again with a right and then shoots a takedown, which Cháirez jumps a guillotine but can't get it.

Van gets to the end of the round on top after a round of two halves with a strong start and a sloppy second half.

Cháirez tries an outside trip, but Van defends it and ends up on top against the cage.

Van goes for a leg lock but doesn’t get it. He gets back up and gets another takedown against the cage.

The fight ends with Van on top, throwing ground and pound until the bell.

Van gets the decision which, after suffering his first loss in the UFC, was good for him. It was a mixed performance for him, with some really good stuff and some really sloppy stuff.

NEXT FIGHT v Cody Durden at UFC 310

Joshua Van faces Cody Durden at the weekend. I think it's a fight he can win, and it would be a good win for him. You’ll see his wrestling tested, so we will get to see how much he’s improved his overall game.

Prediction is Van by Decision.