Joshua Van Reveals Injury Following UFC 331 Victory

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Joshua Van UFC 331
Joshua Van UFC 331 Getty

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van revealed that he had an injury heading into his UFC 331 main event fight against Alexandre Pantoja.

Van defended his UFC flyweight title for the second time in a row when he defeated Pantoja via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 331. But according to Van, it was a difficult training camp, as he suffered an injury during it that limited how much sparring he was able to do.

Joshua Van Reveals Pre-Fight Injury Ahead of UFC 331

Speaking to the media after UFC 331, Van revealed that he had a pre-fight injury heading into UFC 331, telling reporters that he had an AC joint tear in his right shoulder that severely limited his preparation for the bout.

“I couldn’t even spar. The last 2 weeks was my first time sparring. This camp we did nothing but cardio,” Van said.

In the end, Van got the job done, as he was able to battle through the aches and pains and get his hand raised against Pantoja in their rematch, proving to everyone that he is the best flyweight in the world right now.

Who Will Joshua Van Fight Next?

After picking up a massive win over Pantoja at UFC 331, Van will likely fight against Manel Kape in his next title defense.

Given that Van is banged up, he likely won’t be able to fight until sometime in the first or second quarter of 2027, at the earliest, so Kape is going to have to wait a bit before he gets his title shot. But given the string of knockout wins that Kape has been on as of late, he absolutely deserves to fight for the belt next.

Whenever Van vs. Kape does happen, it will easily be one of the best UFC flyweight title fights that we have ever seen, as these are two absolutely incredible fighters who know how to stand and bang with the best of them.

Hopefully, Van can heal up and get ready for his next title defense as he looks to prove once again why he is the best flyweight MMA fighter in the world.

This article was originally published on HEAVY

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