Joshua Van opens up on KO defeat to Charles Johnson before Alexandre Pantoja rematch at UFC 331

Joshua Van suffered a vicious third-round KO defeat in his clash against veteran MMA fighter Charles Johnson back in July of 2024. 

Fast-forward to the here and now, Van is the reigning UFC flyweight champion and the owner of an active seven-fight win streak. The Myanmar-born U.S.-based fighter has opened up about his setback against Johnson and how it changed him for good. 

Joshua Van looks back on humbling KO defeat against Charles Johnson in the UFC

During a recent conversation with Brian Campbell on UFC on Paramount, Joshua Van discussed his imminent return to the Octagon at UFC 331 and more. The young MMA star has lost just twice in his career -- a submission loss early on before he joined the UFC, and the other time being his clash against Charles Johnson. 

Upon being asked about his loss to Johnson and his active schedule since, Van suggested that he aims to continue competing frequently. He stated, "Oh, for sure. I want to stay active." 

Moreover, "The Fearless" indicated that the defeat was a humbling experience, which motivates him to keep working hard in order to avoid the undesirable experience of losing. 

Van said, "Like I say, that loss kind of humbled me in a way. So I never want to taste defeat again. So my work ethic that I put in the gym is just different from that day on." 

UFC 331 headliner Joshua Van cites mistakes he made before his loss, aims to continue title reign by beating Alexandre Pantoja

When asked about whether he had to alter any part of his defensive arsenal and style after that knockout defeat, Joshua Van said, "No. I just have to be myself in the gym and stay in the gym."

He continued, "Going into that camp, there's a lot of things that I did that I shouldn't have done... Stuff like that, but there's no excuse; he beat me fair and square. And it humbled me to become a better fighter." 

The 24-year-old further asserted that the Johnson matchup was a short-notice one, adding that he was doing quite well in it until getting caught. Van implied that he knows that if he trains well, no fighter on the UFC roster could beat him. 

The devout Christian combatant also affirmed that he "found" himself and alluded that God is with him. He reaffirmed his belief in himself and his coaches as well. 

Van defeated longtime UFC flyweight kingpin Alexandre Pantoja via an arm-injury-induced TKO, to be crowned the new champion, last December. The Burmese-American fighter them notched his first title defense by stopping Tatsuro Taira by way of fifth-round TKO in May. 

Certain sections of the MMA community have criticized Van, opining that a freak accident to Pantoja handed him the title. Some fans have argued that "The Cannibal" would surely reclaim the belt when they clash for the second time. 

Presently, Van is booked to defend his UFC flyweight championship in a rematch against Pantoja, which will headline UFC 331 in Los Angeles on September 19. 

Watch Joshua Van discuss the Charles Johnson loss and more below (*comments at the 2:33-minute mark of the video):