Flyweight Champ Van Offers Vicious Advice After Retaining Belt

Joshua Van (17-2 MMA, 10-1 UFC) entered Saturday night's UFC 328 co-main event versus Tatsuro Taira (18-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) looking to defend the UFC Flyweight Championship for the first time. Back in December, Van scored the 125-lb division's title in abrupt fashion.

During UFC 323, Van secured the flyweight crown in under a minute after his opponent, Alexandre Pantoja (30-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC,) sustained an arm injury from a takedown and could not continue with the fight. With only a few seconds of action needed to win the title, Van and his camp were hopeful that Saturday's fight lasted longer than the 26 seconds of action on Dec. 6.

This fight was one that came with a longer wait than either Joshua Van or Tatsuro Taira had anticipated. Saturday's co-main attraction at UFC 328 was initially booked for UFC 327 last month. Ahead of the April 11 card in Miami, the fight for the belt was postponed amid Van sustaining an injury.

Delay of Fight Worth Wait for Joshua Van in UFC 328

Unlike the Dec. 6 fight inside T-Mobile Arena, this one nearly went the advertised distance of five rounds at five minutes per round. The end result, however, remained the same. A barrage of punches proved to be too much for Tatsuro Taira to handle in the final round.

Referee Vitor Ribeiro wisely decided to end the contest one minute and 32 seconds into round five. After the victory, Joshua Van met with the media backstage and recalled a prediction that he made earlier on during fight week, a prediction which failed to materialize.

"The only thing is that I told you guys I was going to finish him inside three rounds," Van began. "Tatsuro is a tough guy, man. Nothing but respect to him."

Van also talked about the knockdowns he scored against his adversary on Saturday night inside the fabled Octagon.

"The first time I dropped him, I woke him back up," he continued, "and then, the second time, I don't know how he got up. Like I said, man, he's tough, and I was trying to submit him, but he's good, man. He's good. 

Joshua Van's Stats Tell the Bigger Story

Statistically speaking, Joshua Van outpaced Tatsuro Taira by a final count of 2-0 in terms of knockdowns and 190-100 in total strikes over the four rounds-plus of action this weekend in New Jersey. After the opening round of action saw Van trail in significant strikes by a 16-7 margin, he began to apply more pressure as the second round began.

Over the last three full rounds of action in the UFC 328 co-main event on Saturday night, Van pummeled Taira 97-32 in significant strikes landed.  Now, a bigger challenge looms for the defending flyweight champion in the aftermath of UFC 328.

Following the show on Saturday night, UFC CEO Dana White mentioned that the next fight for Joshua Van will probably be a rematch of the Dec. 6 fight against No. 1 contender Alexandre Pantoja.

Joshua Van Delivers Harsh Words for Alexandre Pantoja Ahead of Probable Rematch

As previously mentioned, Alexandre Pantoja lost the flyweight championship to Joshua Van late last fall during UFC 323 due to an arm injury. With Pantoja likely being the next man up to challenge for the throne at 125, the champ didn't mince words as to what the top contender should do between now and the time the fight takes place.

"He'd better go get some milk, man," he said. These comments reiterated earlier remarks made by Joshua Van during a backstage interview with former UFC strawweight Diana Belbita on UFC Canadian rightsholder Sportsnet.

"Tell him to drink a lot of milk," Van said of Pantoja during the interview. 

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