UFC flyweight prospect Joshua Van, who grew up in Myanmar and faced bullying after moving to the US, discovered his talent for fighting through street fights and, after encouragement from friends and family, transitioned to professional MMA where he has since gone 7-0 with five finishes.
Joshua Van’s path to MMA stardom was anything but ordinary. He’s a top prospect in the UFC flyweight division, but his beginnings were far from conventional.
Born and raised in Myanmar, Van moved to the U.S. at a young age. He didn’t speak a lick of English and was a small kid, making him an easy target for bullies.
“I was a small kid, didn’t speak English, and was a different race,” Van shared with MMA Fighting. “People picked on me, and I didn’t like that. So, I stood my ground and fought.”
Despite his small stature, Van never backed down. He soon discovered his knack for fighting. The bullies backed off, and he started gaining recognition.
“Fighting was the only way I could get attention,” Van admitted. He even went looking for trouble, just to get into a fight. He wasn’t planning on going pro, but he enjoyed challenging himself.
“I would try something new every time,” Van explained. “I’d go to the basketball court just to pick a fight. I wanted to test myself.”
Van lost count of his street fights, but he had a lot. He even boasted about his undefeated street record until he remembered one loss. It was a fight with his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend.
“He was mad because I took his girl,” Van recalled. “He hit me up on Snapchat, and I wasn’t backing down. He was 6-foot-tall, and I was like, oh s***, I messed up. But we had to fight it out, and thank god, he didn’t know how to fight.”
At 5-foot-5, Van was at a disadvantage, but he held his own. His opponent refused to stop, and after seven minutes, Van had to concede.
“I was cutting him up, but the dude just kept coming,” Van said. “I had to throw up and told him, you win. That was the longest street fight I ever had.”
After that fight, Van realized he could use his skills in a better way. His friends and auntie suggested he try fighting professionally.
“They told me I had talent for fighting,” Van said. “They suggested I try doing it in a cage for my country, for my people. That’s when I decided I wanted to do this.”
Van didn’t have a traditional martial arts background. The only sport he played as a kid was soccer. But he loved fighting, and after only three months of training, he took his first amateur bout.
“I scored a knockout in 96 seconds,” Van said. “I had three more wins within the next six months and decided to turn pro.”
Van faced reality in his professional MMA debut. The rounds lasted five minutes instead of three, which was a big change.
“My cardio was good from playing soccer, but I questioned myself mid-fight in the first round,” Van said. “I thought, why am I doing this? But I got the second-round finish and decided to take this seriously.”
Van faced another reality check two fights later against a wrestler. It was his only loss, but it made him a better fighter.
“I thought I was better than everyone else because I hadn’t lost a fight in forever,” Van said. “That loss humbled me.”
Since then, Van has gone 7-0 with five finishes, including two wins in the UFC. He’s yet to stop anyone in the octagon, but he hopes to change that at UFC Vegas 84.
“Hopefully I get the top 15 guys in my next fight,” Van said. “I’m just that good.”