Over two years after being stopped by Johnson, Van has gone from prospect to UFC flyweight champion. The 24-year-old will return to the Octagon on Sept. 19, when he rematches former champion Alexandre Pantoja in the UFC 331 main event at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Joshua Van details how KO loss to Charles Johnson ‘humbled’ him
Van was stopped by Johnson via a third-round knockout in July 2024, a setback that remains the second and most recent loss of his professional career. He has since won seven straight fights and captured the flyweight championship from Pantoja before defending it against Tatsuro Taira.
Speaking to Paramount+, Van explained how much the defeat changed his approach to training and discipline.
“Oh, for sure. I want to stay active,” Van said. “Like I say, that loss kind of humbled me in a way. So, I never want to taste defeat again. So, my work ethic that I put in the gym is just different from that day on.”
Van said that he doesn't believe he needed to completely overhaul his fighting style after the loss. Instead, he said the focus was on remaining himself and avoiding the mistakes that preceded the Johnson bout.
“Going into that camp, there's a lot of things that I did that I shouldn't have done,” Van added. “Stuff like that, but there's no excuse… He beat me fair and square. And it humbled me to become a better fighter.”