Joshua Van emerged victorious from a memorable flyweight war at UFC 317.
After an impressive display from Payton Talbott and come-from-behind performance by Beneil Dariush kicked off the main card of Saturday’s UFC 317 pay-per-view, it was the turn of the flyweights.
Before Alexandre Pantoja defended his 125-pound title against Kai Kara-France, Joshua Van appeared at his second consecutive PPV, after earning a fourth straight win by knocking out Bruno Silva at UFC 316 earlier in June.
The Burmese prospect received a major opportunity against the No. 1-ranked Brandon Royval after getting the call to replace the injured Manel Kape on short notice.
It’s safe to say that Van made the most of it.
Joshua Van and Brandon Royval put on Fight of the Year contender at UFC 317
A competitive first round at UFC 317 saw Van immediately prove that he was not out of his depth against the division’s top contender.
And from the second, fireworks ensued.
Both Royval and Van played their part in a sure-fire Fight of the Year contender, trading bombs in brutal striking exchanges throughout rounds two and three.
It was ultimately the surging prospect-turned-contender who edged ahead, and Van put an exclamation mark on the performance with a Max Holloway-esque knockdown in the dying seconds.
Social media was full of reactions, including amazement at Van’s performance and praise directed at both men for such an incredible battle.
“One of the best fights this year.”
“Joshua Van is a special talent.”
“Dana (White) licking his lips for Van to be the contender the way the fight is going.”
“Van is an absolute monster.”
“FIGHT OF THE YEAR.”
“Certified banger.”
Joshua Van and Brandon Royval’s record-setting UFC 317 war
Unsurprisingly, Van and Royval’s efforts at UFC 317 broke records.
Jon Anik announced in the immediate aftermath of the pair’s three-round war that they had combined for an astonishing 344 significant strikes.
That number set a new single-fight UFC flyweight record, surpassing the previous highest figure set during Jeff Molina’s win over Aoriqileng at UFC 261 in April 2021.