Joshua Van Picks Resurrecting UFC Flyweight Division Over Petr Yan Superfight
Regardless of the current hype of a fight between Joshua Van and Petr Yan, the former rejected the idea for the time being, mentioning he wanted to popularize the flyweight division.
Joshua Van's incredible performance at UFC 331 has fans hyped for a superfight against reigning bantamweight champion Petr Yan. But Van rejected the potential fight for the time being, mentioning that he wants to revive the flyweight division before anything else.
Joshua Van Wants to Create 'History' at Flyweight
The flyweight division has struggled with a lack of viewership pretty much since its inauguration. The UFC CEO, Dana White, also talked about getting rid of the division in 2017, despite the widely accepted MMA GOAT contender, Demetrious Johnson, being the champion back then.
However, Van's UFC 331 main event encounter with Alexandre Pantoja breathed new life into the division. The relentless action and high pace of the fight gave fans their money's worth, along with impressing the UFC head honcho. While White heaped praise on the quality of the Van vs. Pantoja encounter, he also labeled Van the "greatest thing ever" that happened to the UFC flyweight division.
It seems like White's words have emboldened Van's spirit to do more for the division, especially due to its history of struggle with a lack of eyeballs. During his appearance in a recent episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, Van prioritized promoting the flyweight division with exciting encounters over the much-anticipated champ vs. champ fight against Petr Yan.
Van didn't outright reject the idea of fighting Yan, but he elected to popularize the flyweight division before investing himself in the Yan fight. The reigning flyweight champ said, "Yeah, sure, if it happens, it happens. But as of right now, I'm trying to write history in flyweight."
Van elaborated on his view, saying, "That means nobody gave a s*it about flyweight, and now they started to care about flyweight. So, if I leave, you know what I mean. I can't leave them hanging, man."
Joshua Van says a superfight with Petr Yan can wait, his main mission is to make people care about flyweight:
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 22, 2026
“Nobody gave a shit about flyweight, and now they’re starting to care about flyweight. I can’t leave them hanging, man.
I don’t give a f*** about … pic.twitter.com/3R7hdiqHPj
Subsequently, Van implied that delivering exciting encounters to attract more eyeballs matters more to him than surpassing the records of flyweight greats like 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson.
The reigning flyweight champion's UFC 331 encounter isn't the only time that he has displayed his all-brawl, exciting fighting style inside the octagon. Van's UFC 317 fight against Brandon Royval also had the commentators at their feet, especially after Van scored a clean knockdown in the fifth round.
