Joshua Van didn’t just defend his flyweight title at UFC 328—he erased any lingering questions about his legitimacy as champion.
Coming off an abbreviated victory over Alexandre Pantoja last December, where the Brazilian suffered an arm injury just 26 seconds into their bout at UFC 323, Van faced scrutiny over whether his title win was fully earned. But in his first defense against Tatsuro Taira on Saturday night, Van left no room for doubt.
The co-main event at Newark’s Prudential Center saw Van weather early grappling pressure from Taira before turning the fight with his superior striking. He stopped the Japanese contender via fifth-round TKO at the 1:32 mark.
“I feel great. I think I have proof that I am a world champion, you know,” Van said in his post-fight interview with the UFC. “Shout out to [Taira], nothing but respect to him. He’s a tough motherf—er.”
Despite Taira controlling the ground exchanges early, Van stayed composed and gradually seized momentum. His striking dictated the pace as the fight progressed.
“I know that he’s a good grappler,” Van added. “But this is an MMA fight, this is not a jiu-jitsu match. I know my striking would stand out, and that’s what you [saw] tonight.”
The win sets up a highly anticipated rematch with Pantoja, who was in attendance at UFC 328 while recovering from the arm injury. Van acknowledged that he expected to fight Pantoja next but didn’t want to wait indefinitely.
“I thought it was gonna be Pantoja,” Van said. “But like I said, I wasn’t gonna wait for him forever, so now they gave me Tatsuro and we got it done. So now — Pantoja time.”