Joshua Van Says He Took Flyweight Title Fight vs. Manel Kape on Just 2 Weeks' Notice
Joshua Van revealed that he accepted a championship bout against Manel Kape on short notice but it never came to fruition.
Stepping up on short notice in mixed martial arts is tough enough, but accepting a world championship fight on two weeks' notice takes a completely different level of grit. UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van recently revealed just how close he came to taking a massive title fight on extreme short notice.
Appearing on the Jaxson Podcast, the 125-pound kingpin shared that UFC matchmakers offered him a short-notice title opportunity against Manel Kape with only 14 days to prepare for the contest.
According to Van, the unexpected offer arrived when the promotion was scrambling for high-profile matchups to support a card originally set to feature Kayla Harrison against Amanda Nunes. Van was sitting at an airport in California preparing to board a flight back home to Houston, when he got the call. Without hesitating for a second, the 24-year-old standout said yes to the fight right on the spot.
Joshua Van: Throwing Up and Pushing Through the Grind
Getting the call for a fight of that magnitude is every fighter's dream, but getting a body into championship condition in two short weeks is pure agony. Van admitted that as soon as his plane landed back home, he bypassed any rest and went directly into an intense, grueling training session.
"As soon as I got back to Houston, I was like, 'I got to get back in shape,'" Van recalled during the podcast interview. "Went straight to strength and conditioning, doing cardio. Iām not even gonna lie, I threw up and everything, because I was out of shape, you know what I mean?"
That willingness to step up under any conditions defines Van's rapid rise through the UFC ranks. After capturing the belt from Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 323 and defending it against Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328, the Burmese-American powerhouse has built a reputation as one of the most active, fearless, and reliable competitors in the entire promotion.
While fight card lineups shift and matchmakers reshuffle bouts, Vanās story gives fans an authentic look behind the curtain of short-notice fight offers. Stepping in for five championship rounds on two weeks' notice against a dangerous knockout artist like Kape demands supreme confidence. Though matchups fluctuate, Joshua Van proved once again why he sits atop the division, solidifying his status as a true fan favorite.
