Joshua Van doesn’t want ‘old vs young’ storyline for Alexandre Pantoja fight
UFC 323 title challenger Joshua Van doesn’t want an old vs young storyline for his showdown with Alexandre Pantoja.
At the age of just 24, Joshua Van is already on the verge of his first shot at UFC gold. In the co-main event of UFC 323, he will challenge Alexandre Pantoja for the UFC flyweight championship. It’s a fight that has been in the making for quite some time now, as the 35-year-old attempts to defend his turf and prove that he’s still the best flyweight on the planet.
Van has been on the rise for a while now but if he wins the belt, he will go down as one of the youngest UFC world champions of all time. He is the next generation of flyweights, and he wants to prove that he’s ready right now to sit at the top of the division.
In a recent interview, though, Van made it clear that he doesn’t want some kind of ‘old vs young’ tagline being attached to this contest.
Van’s view on Pantoja fight
“I don’t like that,” Van said. “You know how people say he’s unbeatable and stuff like that? I don’t want people to turn this into old vs. young. I don’t like that. This is the guy, the Pantoja that everybody says is unbeatable. I don’t want to hear, ‘Oh, he’s old. He’s getting old this and that.’ I feel like he will come in and he’ll be the best Pantoja you can see.”
“I feel like I’m going to knock him out inside three rounds,” Van said. “If not, it’s going to be a war. You know Pantoja. That motherf*cker is going to bring it and I’m going to bring it. I’m thinking inside three rounds, but I’m prepared for a five-rounder, too. Yeah, let’s just see come Dec. 6. Because you know we can all make game plans, but come fight day, it’s completely different. I’m well-prepared for everything, man, of what he’s going to bring to the table come fight night.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
