Joshua Van Flipped Dustin Poirier’s Fight Footage to Study Him as an Orthodox Fighter
Joshua Van just revealed his training secret. The UFC champion watches the likes of Dustin Poirier and flips the video to replicate his orthodox stance so he can learn.
Every fighter has a unique film study routine, but UFC Flyweight champion Joshua Van took his tape breakdown to a whole new level early in his career.
Before climbing the ranks to hold an 18-2 professional record, the Myanmar-born striker was obsessed with honing his boxing techniques. One of his favorite combatants to study was former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier. There was just one problem: Poirier fights out of a southpaw stance, while Van operates strictly as an orthodox fighter.
Rather than abandoning the tape, Van found a clever visual loophole.
Mirroring the Diamond
Appearing on Dominick Cruz's show, Van revealed that he used to horizontally flip screen recordings of Poirier’s fights so he could watch the Louisiana native function as an orthodox boxer.
“I used to study Dustin Poirier, but he was a southpaw, so I had to record and flip the screen so I could watch him orthodox," Van explained. "I would study guys who had my style.”
Poirier’s game is world-class inside the pocket, built on a tight high guard, slick shoulder rolls, and blistering counter-boxing. By mirroring the footage, Van could seamlessly absorb Poirier's combination flow, head movement, and foot angles without having to mentally transpose southpaw mechanics into orthodox movements.
Poirier isn't the only elite striker in Van’s film study collection. The 24-year-old champion noted that he regularly breaks down other boxing-centric fighters across the UFC roster, particularly bantamweight star Petr Yan and featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.
"He's got my style of fighting," Van said of Poirier. "He's a boxing-based fighter, kind of like Petr Yan, Ilia... I like to study one of the greats and just put it into my game. Petr Yan really is the one that I really watch."
Van’s analytical mindset has clearly paid off. Fresh off defending his flyweight crown against Alexandre Pantoja, Van continues to prove that his boxing-heavy style is one of the most lethal tools in the division. It turns out a little video editing trick was a key ingredient in building a world champion.
