Joshua Van reveals how God humbled him after mid-fight incident against UFC foe Charles Johnson
Joshua Van has opened up about his spiritual experience related to his knockout defeat ahead of his title fight at UFC 331.
Joshua Van has expounded upon a moving spiritual experience from his UFC career that left a significant impact on him.
"The Fearless" indicated that it happened during his oft-discussed back-and-forth fight with Charles Johnson. The veteran fighter beat the young Van via third-round KO in their flyweight matchup inside the Octagon back in July of 2024.
Joshua Van recounts how God humbled him after mid-fight incident in Charles Johnson clash in the UFC
During a recent conversation with MMA influencer and streamer Nina-Marie Daniele (aka Nina Drama), Joshua Van addressed his upcoming fight at UFC 331 and much more.
He harked back to the time when he was 3-0 in the UFC and faced Charles Johnson. Daniele alluded to how Van had, admittedly, made a mid-fight statement wherein he claimed that he doesn't need God to help him.
A devout Christian, Van seemed to acknowledge that as his mistake and indicated that he was humbled by God. The Myanmar-born U.S.-based fighter implied that he also made some training mistakes, such as not being in the gym as much, for the fight against Johnson.
Ergo, Van foresaw the fight being hard, but he highlighted that it was easier than expected and made him confident enough to think he doesn't need any divine help to win it.
Van stated, "So, the end of the second round -- before the end of the second round, I kind of talked to myself like, 'I don't need you, God.' But I said it in my language."
Explaining the spiritual experience and lesson he took from it, Van said, "And I was like, 'Oh, sh**. I f**ked up.' Then going back to my corner, I couldn't hear what my corner was saying. I was just having the thought, like, 'I'm going to get knocked out...' And then what is it, 15 seconds into the third round, boom, knocked me out."
The 24-year-old affirmed that his family criticized him for his comment against the Almighty. He noted, "It hurt. But, you know, when I tell my family, they were celebrating. They was like, 'Yeah. That's good. You are nothing without God.' So it was kind of like, eye-opening for me."
UFC 331 headliner Joshua Van is still befuddled about why he made the remark
Joshua Van further signaled that he's yet to understand why the thought came to his mind and the reason behind speaking it out. When asked about it by Nina-Marie Daniele, he simply said, "I don't know."
In regard to what had come over him to make him speak against his religious beliefs, he noted, "I don't know. Like, it just came out of nowhere."
Presently, reigning UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van is booked to face former divisional kingpin Alexandre Pantoja in a rematch. He won the title with an arm-injury-induced first-round TKO of Pantoja last December. Van later defended his throne by stopping Tatsuro Taira by way of fifth-round TKO in May.
The Van vs. Pantoja rematch, with UFC flyweight gold at stake, will headline UFC 331 in Los Angeles on September 19.
Watch Joshua Van address his incredible spiritual experience below (*comments at the 6:00-minute mark of the video):
