Joshua Van still wants to face Alexandre Pantoja again and he has some health tips for the former champion.
Saturday’s UFC 328 co-main event saw Van prove that he’s deserving of his elite status as he outlasted fellow Gen Z standout Tatsuro Taira en route to scoring a fifth-round knockout win. It was Van’s first title defense since winning the belt at UFC 323 in December, when his bout with longstanding champion Alexandre Pantoja ended in just 26 seconds when Pantoja suffered a freak arm injury defending against a Taira throw.
Presumably, Pantoja will be granted an instant title shot when he returns, though his recovery timetable remains unclear. Should the rematch be made, Van hopes Pantoja gets plenty of calcium to strengthen thos ebones.
“Yes, you better go get some milk, man,” Van said at the UFC 328 post-fight press conference.
While it might not change perception of how Van stacks up against Pantoja, the 24-year-old champion received some validation with his win over Taira. The match was billed as a battle of young stars being put under the championship spotlight and it didn’t disappoint as both fighters had their moments, with Van’s striking winning out in the end.
Van didn’t get the chance to show off his skills against Pantoja and while he still feels bad for how their fight went down, he also doesn’t appreciate Pantoja downplaying how Van beat him.
“I felt bad,” Van said. “I told [Pantoja at UFC 323], like, I walked up to him because when I was celebrating I didn’t know his arm was like that. After I saw his arm on the screen, I walked up to him, I say, ‘Sorry.’ He says, ‘Sorry,’ this and that, the next thing you know he waited three months and then he came and do little interviews. His ‘pinoche’ hurt, so he’s saying a lot of shit now, so I don’t know what’s up with him.
“I saw him yesterday, there’s no hate from me. I talked to him, I shake his hand, but I don’t know what he got in his head.”
Van earned his spot at the top with a frantic fight schedule since joining the UFC in 2023, including an eight-fight stretch in 2024 and 2025 that saw him win seven of eight fights. Now that he’s a champion with a successful title defense under his belt, can fans expect him to remain as active as before?
“I don’t know,” Van said. “I’ve got to talk to my team, see what’s up. Maybe heal up a little bit and things like that, so at least one more by the end of this year.”
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