Joshua Van

Burmese-American mixed martial artist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joshua Van Bawi Thawng (Burmese: ယောရှုဗန်ဘွေထောင်း; born October 10, 2001) is a Burmese and American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Flyweight Champion. Van is the first fighter from Myanmar to sign with the promotion. At UFC 323, he became the UFC's second Asian-born male champion and the first champion to be born in the 2000s.[3] As of May 12, 2026, he is #9 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.[4]

BornJoshua Van Bawi Thawng[1]
(2001-10-10) October 10, 2001 (age 24)
Hakha, Chin State, Myanmar
Native nameယောရှုဗန်ဘွေထောင်း
Other namesThe Fearless
NationalityBurmese[a]
American
Quick facts Born, Native name ...
Joshua Van
BornJoshua Van Bawi Thawng[1]
(2001-10-10) October 10, 2001 (age 24)
Hakha, Chin State, Myanmar
Native nameယောရှုဗန်ဘွေထောင်း
Other namesThe Fearless
NationalityBurmese[a]
American
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Weight125 lb (57 kg; 8 st 13 lb)
DivisionFlyweight
Reach65[1] in (165 cm)
Fighting out ofHouston, Texas, U.S.
Team4oz. Fight Club
RankBlue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[2]
Years active2021–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total19
Wins17
By knockout9
By submission2
By decision6
Losses2
By knockout1
By submission1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
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Background

Van was born on October 10, 2001 in Hakha, in the Chin State of western Myanmar, to a family of five siblings. Due to a country ridden with military and political conflict, his family moved to Malaysia, when he was ten. In 2013, at the age of twelve, Van migrated with his family to the United States, settling in Houston.[5][6]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Van made his professional MMA debut in 2021. He fought exclusively for Fury Fighting Championship, where he acquired a 7–1 record including in the main event of Fury FC 72 on December 18, 2022, where he submitted Cleveland McLean in the second round to win the promotion's Flyweight title.[7]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Van was scheduled to face Kevin Borjas on August 8, 2023, at Dana White's Contender Series 57, but he was pulled in order to face Zhalgas Zhumagulov at UFC on ABC 5 on June 24, 2023.[8] This made him the first Burmese fighter to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.[5] He won the fight by split decision.[9]

The bout between Van and Borjas was rescheduled on November 11, 2023, at UFC 295.[10] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[11]

Van faced Felipe Bunes, replacing Denys Bondar on January 13, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 234.[12] He won the fight by second-round technical knockout.[13]

Van was scheduled to face Lucas Rocha, replacing Jose Johnson on April 6, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 240.[14] However, Rocha withdrew due to injury and the bout was scrapped.[15]

Van was scheduled to face Su Mudaerji on June 1, 2024, at UFC 302.[16] However, Su pulled out in late April due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Tatsuro Taira.[17][18] In turn, both fighters were moved to UFC on ESPN 58 on June 15, 2024 and Van ended up being scheduled to face Tagir Ulanbekov instead.[19] However, the bout was cancelled when Ulanbekov weighed in at 129.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit.[20]

Van faced Charles Johnson on July 13, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 59.[21] He lost the fight via knockout in the third round.[22]

Van faced Édgar Cháirez, replacing Kevin Borjas on September 14, 2024, at UFC 306.[23] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[24]

Van faced Cody Durden on December 7, 2024, at UFC 310.[25] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[26]

Van was scheduled to face Bruno Gustavo da Silva on March 8, 2025, at UFC 313.[27] However, Silva pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Road to UFC Season 2 flyweight winner Rei Tsuruya.[28] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[29]

Van's bout with Bruno Gustavo da Silva was rescheduled and took place on June 7, 2025 at UFC 316.[30] Van won the fight by technical knockout late into the third round.[31]

Van stepped in on three weeks short notice to face former LFA Flyweight Champion and UFC Flyweight Championship challenger Brandon Royval at UFC 317 on June 28, 2025, after Manel Kape was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a broken foot.[32] Van won the fight against Royval by unanimous decision.[33] This fight earned him his first Fight of the Night award.[34] Van and Royval landed a total of 419 significant strikes, which broke the record for most significant strikes landed in a three-round UFC fight and flyweight bout.[35]

Flyweight Championship

Van faced Alexandre Pantoja for the UFC Flyweight Championship on December 6, 2025 at UFC 323.[36] Van defeated Pantoja by technical knockout 26 seconds into the first round when Pantoja sustained an arm injury from falling to the canvas, after having a kick attempt caught by Van. At 24 years old, Van became the second-youngest champion in UFC history, behind Jon Jones, and the first fighter born in the 2000s to win a UFC title.[37][38] He also became the UFC's first Asian-born male champion.[39]

Van was scheduled to make his first title defense against Tatsuro Taira on April 11, 2026 at UFC 327.[40] However, due to a knee injury, Van withdrew from the bout, so the bout was postponed to May 9, 2026 which took place at UFC 328.[41][42] He successfully defended the title and won the fight via technical knockout in the fifth round.[43] This fight earned him a $100,000 Fight of the Night award.[44]

Personal life

Van's father died in 2017 and as of July 2025, he lives with his mother.[45] Van is a Christian.[46][47]

Van is an avid fan of McDonald's and has mentioned to various media sources that he eats it for breakfast every morning, even during training camp.[48]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
19 matches 17 wins 2 losses
By knockout 9 1
By submission 2 1
By decision 6 0
More information Res., Record ...
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 17–2 Tatsuro Taira TKO (front kick to the body and punches) UFC 328 May 9, 2026 5 1:32 Newark, New Jersey, United States Defended the UFC Flyweight Championship. Fight of the Night.
Win 16–2 Alexandre Pantoja TKO (arm injury) UFC 323 December 6, 2025 1 0:26 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Won the UFC Flyweight Championship.
Win 15–2 Brandon Royval Decision (unanimous) UFC 317 June 28, 2025 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 14–2 Bruno Gustavo da Silva TKO (punches) UFC 316 June 7, 2025 3 4:01 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Win 13–2 Rei Tsuruya Decision (unanimous) UFC 313 March 8, 2025 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 12–2 Cody Durden Decision (unanimous) UFC 310 December 7, 2024 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 11–2 Édgar Cháirez Decision (unanimous) UFC 306 September 14, 2024 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 10–2 Charles Johnson KO (punches) UFC on ESPN: Namajunas vs. Cortez July 13, 2024 3 0:20 Denver, Colorado, United States
Win 10–1 Felipe Bunes TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 January 13, 2024 2 4:31 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 9–1 Kevin Borjas Decision (unanimous) UFC 295 November 11, 2023 3 5:00 New York City, New York, United States
Win 8–1 Zhalgas Zhumagulov Decision (split) UFC on ABC: Emmett vs. Topuria June 24, 2023 3 5:00 Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Win 7–1 Cleveland McLean Submission (rear-naked choke) Fury FC 72 December 18, 2022 2 4:49 Houston, Texas, United States Won the vacant Fury FC Flyweight Championship.
Win 6–1 Paris Moran TKO (punches) Fury FC 67 August 14, 2022 2 0:36 Houston, Texas, United States
Win 5–1 Mario Suazo Submission (calf slicer) Fury FC 62 May 15, 2022 2 4:23 Castle Rock, Colorado, United States
Win 4–1 Angelo Trujillo KO (head kick) Fury FC 60 April 24, 2022 1 1:36 Houston, Texas, United States
Win 3–1 Francisco Obando TKO (punches) Fury FC 57 February 11, 2022 1 3:08 Humble, Texas, United States
Loss 2–1 Devon Jackson Submission (rear-naked choke) Fury FC 55 December 19, 2021 2 4:58 Houston, Texas, United States
Win 2–0 Chase Eastham TKO (punches) Fury FC 54 November 21, 2021 2 3:24 Houston, Texas, United States
Win 1–0 Tony Esquivel TKO (knees to the body) Fury FC 52 October 17, 2021 2 2:14 Houston, Texas, United States Flyweight debut.
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See also

Notes

  1. [a]
    Expatriate

References

External links

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