Becoming a UFC champion helped mend Joshua Van’s relationship with his late father
Two days after successful the UFC’s flyweight championship in December, Joshua Van He stood at his father’s grave in Houston. It was his first go to since December 2022, when he gained a regional title with Fury Fighting Championship.
“I will go to the cemetery with my mom, but I usually stay in the car,” Van informed ESPN. “I only go in when I accomplish something big. I was nothing but a disappointment when he was alive, do you know what I mean?”
Van (16-2) appears to defend his 125-pound championship in opposition to Tatsuro Taira (18-1) at UFC 328 on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey. The 24-year-old has amassed a 9-1 document in lower than three years within the UFC and final 12 months turned the second-youngest champion in UFC historical past behind Jon Joneswho first held a title at 23. Van is on the high of his sport however remains to be a man motivated by his previous.
Van was born and spent his youth in Myanmar, a Southeast Asian nation that has endured many years of civil battle and instability. His father was absent the vast majority of Van’s childhood, trying to find alternatives to maneuver his household out of Myanmar. When Van was 9 years previous, he was separated from his father and two of his sisters, as he waited to hitch them at a refugee camp his father present in Malaysia.
“Two of my sisters went to my father first, and then me, my mother and younger sister went after one year,” Van stated. “None of us had cell phones. We could only talk when they were able to call our home phone. It would be a whole year without them calling and us not knowing what was happening. It was crazy.”
Van’s household migrated to Houston when he was 12, and the adjustment to a new tradition and a new atmosphere was arduous. He was teased as a result of he struggled to talk and perceive English when he first arrived, and he would consistently get into fights. His mother and father relocated the household quite a few occasions within the hopes that Van would discover peace, however the fights escalated as an alternative. Eventually, Van discovered himself in a state of affairs that pressured him to maneuver out of Houston altogether.
“My homeboy called me and was like, ‘Bro, this one is serious, you need to get out of the city,'” Van stated. “At first I thought he was f—ing with me, but I told my dad and he didn’t give it a second thought. Two days after I told my dad about it, I moved.”
They went to dwell with members of the family in Iowa, the place he continued to get into hassle. His aunt, involved with his nephew’s profession, challenged him to battle for the delight of his nation and his household, quite than for himself within the streets. Soon after, Van moved again to Houston, the place he discovered an MMA fitness center and devoted himself to coaching. From there, his path started to alter.
Van’s father died when Van was 16, so he wasn’t there to witness his son’s novice debut at 19 years previous in 2020. Fewer than three years later, Van had fought his option to a UFC contract.
With his aunt’s phrases nonetheless in his coronary heart, Van could not wait to characterize Myanmar on MMA’s largest stage, however when he debuted in July 2023, UFC fighters had been swept from carrying nationwide flags to the Octagon on account of escalating battle between Russia and Ukraine. Even after the ban was lifted in October 2023, the UFC denied Van’s subsequent 5 requests to stroll out with the Myanmar flag.
“[Van] would get mad about it every fight because they would make him put the flag away right before [he walked out]”Van’s coach Daniel Pineda he stated. “He would literally have it ready to make the walk, and they would tell him he couldn’t have it.”
Myanmar is a politically troubled area with a lengthy historical past of battle between army management and insurgent teams. A 2021 army coup thrust the nation into ongoing civil warfare. The warfare was a motive for the preliminary denial, Van stored pushing whether or not the UFC and CEO Dana White to rethink their resolution to disallow the flag, and in 2025, they did. They represented Myanmar 4 occasions final 12 months in one of many best breakout campaigns in current reminiscence. He capped it off in December by defeating longtime champion Alexandre Pantojawho suffered an arm harm throughout a clumsy fall within the first spherical.
He purchased his mom a home in Houston final 12 months and nonetheless lives with her, at the same time as a UFC titleholder. Pineda stated he has seen no change in Van’s mindset going into 2026. Van desires to defend the title in opposition to Taira and battle once more as quickly as doable. He desires a rematch with Pantoja to erase any doubt as to the legitimacy of his championship. And identical to the child who was combating within the Houston streets, Van remains to be prepared to battle anybody who desires to problem him.
“He’s looking for a fight all the time, that’s about the only bad thing about being champion,” Pineda laughed. “The freaking No. 30-ranked flyweight could call him out, and he’s like, ‘All right, let’s fight.’ And we’ve got to be like, ‘No, no, no, you can’t just fight anybody now.'”
The future is shiny and limitless — and between representing his humble beginnings and making amends to his late father, who by no means bought to see him battle, the previous will proceed to inspire.
“I don’t know if he can be proud of me now,” Van stated. “But I hope he is.”
