Joshua Van makes startling admission after title win

LOS ANGELES – What if Joshua Van told you he won a Fight of the Year candidate while competing with a severe disadvantage?

Van made the second successful defense of his flyweight title Saturday night by winning a unanimous decision over the man he claimed the belt from, Alexandre Pantoja , in the UFC 331 main event at Crypto.com Arena. Unlike their last encounter, there was no fight-ending fluke injury just seconds in. No, this time Van showed off his boxing on his way to a unanimous decision that left no doubt about his superiority over Pantoja.

And he did it after overcoming less-than-ideal circumstances in training camp.