Joshua Van‘s second title defense comes with a lot of baggage. Tonight in Los Angeles’ Crypto. com Arena, he once again faces the man whose flyweight title he claimed last December. While he promises to deliver a statement win over Alexandre Pantoja, skeptics continue to question the way he became a champion.

“Joshua, it’s obvious the first fight did not go the way you or Pantoja wanted. You defended your title already. You have an opportunity now to submit your legacy by beating the man that you won the title from by accident. Give us your thoughts on what this all means to you,” Joe Rogan asked at the ceremonial weigh-ins.

Normally, one would have expected a fighter to shrink from a question of that nature. But Van didn’t. Instead, he chose to confront it head-on.

“It ain’t no accident, man. It happened the way it did, and it was meant to be. You know what I mean, tomorrow we kill or be killed. We stay at that,” Van replied, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.”

While Van nailed it with a pointed response, the roots of the controversy lie in the sequence of events that took place at UFC 323 on December 6, 2025. Two and a half years after he made his UFC debut, the former Fury FC flyweight champion finally received a shot at the title.

A champion since 2023, Pantoja was riding a four-fight title defense streak.

However, the bout that took place at the T-Mobile Arena ended no sooner than it had begun. Just 26 seconds into the opening round, Pantoja threw an early head kick and planted his arm awkwardly on the canvas as he fell. But by doing so, he broke his elbow.

After taking stock, the referee stopped the fight. Van was declared a winner by TKO, making him the second-youngest champion in UFC history and the first male champion born in Asia.

In his first title defense, Van met the formidable Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328. Over 5 grueling rounds, Van finally stopped the tough Japanese fighter and earned a Fight of the Night honor.

Yet despite the feat, he had to consistently field questions related to the first Pantoja fight.

Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja: Can van erase all doubts tonight?

Joe Rogan‘s question, meanwhile, should not be looked upon as something outlandish. He asked what many seem to think and believe that Van won his first UFC title by sheer luck. Otherwise, the color commentator has only praised the Burmese-born fighter for his fighting skills.

“His fucking boxing, it might be the best in the UFC,” Rogan said on JRE a few months ago.

Also, Van’s case is not something unprecedented. There have been instances in the past where fighters became champions by sheer chance.

The example that closely matches Van vs. Pantoja I is the first fight between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. The two met at UFC 259 on March 6, 2021, for the UFC bantamweight championship. The bout ended in the fourth round after an illegal knee from Yan left Sterling unable to continue.

As a result, Yan was disqualified, and Sterling was declared the champion. However, like Van and Pantoja, the two met once again a few months later for Sterling’s first title defense. This time, Sterling defeated the Russian by a split decision.

What matters more now is whether Van is able to back up those words and claim a clear victory like Sterling did years ago.

On paper, the champion remains the odds-on favorite to retain his belt. However, it will be too early to rule out the Brazilian completely. Fighting in the UFC since 2017, Pantoja has suffered a fair number of losses, including the ones to Dustin Ortiz, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Askar Askarov. But none appears more bizarre that the one he lost to Van.

After the setback against Askarov in 2020, he was on an eight-fight-winning streak, half of which ended inside the distance.

Doubts over his win partly stem from the nine-month-long absence that followed his injury at UFC 323. In contrast, Van has been active, having gone through a challenging test against a top contender.

Backed by relentless pace and cardio, Van’s age lends him a certain advantage. But will that be sufficient against Pantoja’s grappling? Many, in particular, question if Van will be able to get himself out of Pantoja’s takedowns.