Joshua Van accepted a short-notice call to replace Felipe Burns and fight Zhalgas Zhumagulov at UFC Jacksonville, making his UFC debut with just over a week’s notice.
Joshua Van had been looking forward to his chance to earn a UFC contract on The Contender Series in August, but an unexpected call from his manager changed everything. Zhalgas Zhumagulov, who had lost opponents for three consecutive fights, was in desperate need of a new match. Rather than delaying him further after Felipe Burns was removed from UFC Vegas 75, the promotion decided to push Zhumagulov back only one week and secured him a new fight for the UFC Jacksonville card. This is where Van stepped in as the challenger.
Van recalled his manager Jason House calling him, asking if he could make weight in just two or three days. Without hesitation, Van accepted the offer, not even asking who his opponent would be. It wasn’t until later that he learned who Zhumagulov was, since he didn’t typically watch fights unless they involved well-known fighters like Conor McGregor or Israel Adesanya. Nonetheless, he was prepared for a short-notice fight and was ready to go.
After accepting the fight, Van had to check with his head coach, Daniel Pineda, to ensure he was on board with the plan to debut in the UFC just a few days later. Although Van felt extremely excited and even got butterflies in his stomach, he assured that he wasn’t nervous. Once he got the green light from his coach, he focused on winning the fight. Although it wasn’t an ideal situation to accept a fight on such short notice, Van knew he was in decent shape and was always prepared for opportunities like this. Born to fight, Van faced his opponent with confidence, embodying the spirit of a true fighter.