Tag: Joshua Van

Joshua Van calls out Cody Durden after win over Edgar Chairez at UFC 306

Joshua Van got back in the win column just two months after his first UFC loss.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag] beat Edgar Chairez with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Van, who stepped up when Kevin Borjas pulled out and got back in the win column just two months after his first UFC loss.

Joshua Van def. Edgar Chairez

Sep 14, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Edgar Chairez of Mexico (red gloves) fights Joshua Van of the United States (blue gloves) during Riyadh Season Noche UFC 306 at The Sphere. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Result: Joshua Van def. Edgar Chairez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Updated records: Van (11-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC), Chairez (11-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC)
Key stats: Van landed 183 total strikes in the fight and had three takedowns.

Van on the fight’s key moment

Sep 14, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Edgar Chairez of Mexico (red gloves) fights Joshua Van of the United States (blue gloves) during Riyadh Season Noche UFC 306 at The Sphere. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

“That motherf*cker is tough, man. And the thing is, he’s got a long-ass arm. So even though I pulled back a little bit, his arm was still reaching me. It was a little new to me, fighting someone as long as him. But he was tough. That’s all I can say: He was a tough motherf*cker.

“… The second round, I hurt him. But Mexicans are tough. He won’t give up. Watching all his fights – I did my little homework this time around – he didn’t like the body shots. That’s why we tried to go down to the body.”

Van on the short notice fight

“I was at the bar taking a shot when I got the call for this. I thought I was going to be taking a break for two months or so. I was enjoying my best life. The call came, two weeks’ notice, and we took the fight. This week was a good experience for me. I loved every single moment.”

Van on what he wants next

Cody Durden

“I want to fight that boy Cody Durden. I want to fight that boy. If not, I was from Myanmar, but I was raised by this Mexican and we hate lazy people. I don’t like that ‘Lazyboy,’ (Ronaldo Rodriguez). So we can run it.”

To hear more from Van, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.

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UFC 306 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: O’Malley, Grasso net $42,000 for entering as champs

Sean O’Malley and Alexa Grasso got the biggest checks from the Promotional Guidelines Compliance program fro UFC 306, which paid $239,500.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 306 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $239,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 306 took place at Sphere. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 306 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Esteban Ribovics[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Daniel Zellhuber[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Ronaldo Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ode Osbourne[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Norma Dumont[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Ignacio Bahamondes[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Ketlen Souza[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Yazmin Jauregui[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Aori Qileng[/autotag]: $6,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $5,721,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $28,458,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.

Joshua Van def. Edgar Chairez at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Joshua Van’s unanimous decision win over Edgar Chairez at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag] at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas. (Fight and venue photos by Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA Today Sports)

Joshua Van steps into UFC 306 vs. Edgar Chairez after Kevin Borjas withdraws

A UFC fighter has pulled out of the Sphere event for the first time since the lineup was announced.

[autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag] has raised his hand once again. But this time as a result, he’ll fight in potential once-in-a-lifetime UFC venue at Sphere in Las Vegas.

With [autotag]Kevin Borjas[/autotag] off the Sept. 14 card for undisclosed reasons, Van (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) steps in to face [autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag] (11-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a flyweight undercard bout at UFC 306.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the change but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

The change is the first one the UFC 306 card at Sphere has encountered. The card is set to be the promotion’s annual Noche UFC event, a tribute to Mexican Independence Day.

Van has remained incredibly active since his amateur debut in December 2020. The fight will mark his 18th over that 46-month period. Van signed with the UFC in 2023 and quickly racked up wins over Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Kevin Borjas, and Felipe Bunes. In July, Van was finished with strikes by Charles Johnson for his first UFC loss.

Chairez has had mixed results in the UFC. After a loss to Tatsuro Taira in his promotional debut, Chairez fought Daniel Lacerda in back-to-back fights. The first was a no contest due to a premature stoppage. Chairez won the rematch by first-round triangle choke submission.

The updated UFC 306 fight card includes:

  • Champ Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili – for bantamweight title
  • Champ Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko – for women’s flyweight title
  • Diego Lopes vs. Brian Ortega
  • Esteban Ribovics vs. Daniel Zellhuber
  • Ode Osbourne vs. Ronaldo Rodriguez
  • Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont
  • Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Manuel Torres
  • Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza
  • Edgar Chairez vs. Joshua Van
  • Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aori Qileng

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.

UFC on ESPN 59 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2024 total passes $4 million

The UFC has now issued more than $4 million in Promotional Guidelines Compliance to its fighters in 2024 after UFC Denver.

DENVER – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 59 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $180,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC on ESPN 59 took place at Ball Arena in Colorado. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 59 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Santiago Ponzinibbio[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Gabriel Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ange Loosa[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag]: $11,000
vs. [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Fatima Kline[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Luana Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mariya Agapova[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Petroski[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Evan Elder[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Darrius Flowers[/autotag]: $4,500

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $31,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-59 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,129,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $26,866,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC on ESPN 59 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

UFC on ESPN 59 video: Charles Johnson scores stunning upset KO of Joshua Van

Charles Johnson turned the tables on Joshua Van with a perfect uppercut en route to a huge upset win at UFC on ESPN 59.

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag] showed once again that he has zero quit in him by rallying to upset [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 59.

Johnson (16-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) was a sizeable betting underdog to hyped flyweight prospect Van (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC), and for the first two rounds at Ball Arena in Denver, it looked like he was slightly out of his depth and en route to a decision loss.

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But then the third round began, and Johnson stunned Van with a crisp punch followed by a huge uppercut that led to the knockdown. He pounded and got the knockout at the 0:20 mark of Round 3 to a stunning applause from the crowd (via X):

After the fight, an ecstatic Johnson, who has now won three straight fights after losing three prior, said he’s on the way up in the 125-pound rankings.

“I got this fight 11 days ago,” Johnson said in his post-fight interview with Paul Felder. “… UFC, let me get a ranking, baby.”

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Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 59 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Cancellations soured Joshua Van before Charles Johnson stepped up: ‘I love everything he stands for’

Joshua Van had just about had it after four straight cancellations – but that’s when Charles Johnson raised his hand.

[autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag] proudly wore designation of one of the UFC’s most active fighters as 2023 turned into 2024 and he fell into a half-year of inactivity.

The break in the action wasn’t because Van (10-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) called timeout, which frustrates him even now that he has a fight on the books for Saturday at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver.

“I’m just happy to have a fight,” Van recently told MMA Junkie. “It’s been six months that I haven’t fought. I’m just excited to get back. Hopefully this one goes through.”

In April, opponent Lucas Rocha pulled out to due to injury. Van was then booked for June 1 vs. Tatsuro Taira, but the promotion split the matchup and rebooked the fighters against different opponents for June 15.

On June 14, Van weighed in and made weight, but opponent Tagir Ulanbekov missed by 3.5 pounds and the fight was scrapped. Going through the entire process without a fight, Van lost his taste for fighting for a little while, he admitted.

“This is kind of getting annoying,” Van said. “I got to the point where I didn’t even want to train and sh*t like that. When I came back from Vegas two or three weeks ago, I didn’t even want to train, man. I just stayed at home for a week, a week and half. After that, that’s when my manager called me and I went back to training and sh*t like that. This thing is getting annoying.”

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Van’s coaches, teammates, and mother helped him eventually bring his motivation back. That’s when the phone rang. It was his manager Jason House. While the process from there was up and down, eventually Van found a willing combatant: [autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 4-4 UFC).

“I got his name a day before I signed the contract,” Van said. “I said, ‘Yes, I want to fight him.’ Then, my manager called me a couple hours later and they gave me a different name. It was a better matchup. Not just a better matchup, but it was a better opportunity. I said, ‘I’d fight that guy.’ It turns out that guy doesn’t want to fight me. The next day, I think I sent Jason (House) a screenshot like, ‘I think Johnson wants to fight me. Why don’t we fight him?’ And he’s like, ‘All right, I’ll work on it.’ The next day, he sent me a contract.”

In a world where it’s “cool” to talk trash to your opponent, Van has nothing but respect and admiration for Johnson, the lone man willing to step up at this moment in time.

“I love it, I love it,” Van said. “I love everything he stands for. Like I said, he stepped up. A lot of people don’t want to fight me short notice. I know we’re both short notice, but he stepped up. Much respect to him. His style his crafty. Come fight day, it’s going to be who’s prepared more and stuff like that. I’m very, very excited for this one.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Joshua Van relieved to make it to UFC on ESPN 58 fight week after several bout cancellations

UFC flyweight prospect Joshua Van is stoked to finally make it to a UFC fighting week without his bout getting canceled.

It’s UFC on ESPN 58 and [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag] can’t help but feel a sense of relief that it’s finally here.

The UFC flyweight prospect has been wanting to get his second fight in for 2024, but has been unable to. After stopping Felipe Bunes in January, Van (10-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has been booked three different times and has seen all three bouts get canceled. He was supposed to fight Lucas Rocha in April, then Sumudaerji to get switched to Tatsuro Taira for UFC 302 in June.

It looks like the fourth time is the charm, as he’s fighting Tagir Ulanbekov (15-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) this Saturday in Las Vegas.

“I’m just excited that I get to fight,” Van told MMA Junkie. “The last couple of months have been canceled fights and stuff like that, or my opponents pull out or whatever. I’m just excited to be here in fight week, finally. I’m very, very excited.”

The 22-year-old Van admits it’s been tough to not be active and has felt frustrated throughout this process.

“Shout out to my coaches because there was a point in time I didn’t even want to train, man,” Van said. “It’s just because they kept canceling fights and sh*t like that, so shout out to my coaches for keeping me grinding every day.”

Ulanbekov is currently in the official top 15 rankings of the UFC’s flyweight division. Van is happy to be getting a notable opponent and expects a tough test on Saturday.

“He’s a tough fighter and a good wrestler,” Van said. “His striking is there, but his main thing is his wrestling. Come Fight Night, we’ll be ready for him.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.

Tatsuro Taira fills UFC 302 opening, fights Joshua Van

Two of the UFC’s most promising flyweights, Tatsuro Taira and Joshua Van will collide in Newark.

Two of the UFC flyweight division’s most promising rising fighters will collide this June.

With [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag] out of UFC 302, [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] has signed on to fight [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag] at the June 1 event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The matchup was announced Thursday by Iridium Sports Agency, which manages both fighters.

Taira (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has passed each test he’s had in the promotion with flying colors. With three finishes in five promotional appearances, Japan’s Taira rides high off a TKO victory over Carlos Hernandez in December.

Van (10-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) went 3-0 in his first seven months with the UFC as he accumulated wins over Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Kevin Borjas, and Felipe Bunes. He was scheduled to fight Lucas Rocha in April, but was removed from the card when his opponent withdrew.

With the addition, the UFC 302 lineup includes:

  • Champion Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier – for lightweight title
  • Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa – five-round co-main event
  • Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez
  • Su Mudaerji vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov
  • Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez
  • Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
  • Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
  • Jake Matthews vs. Phil Rowe
  • Andre Lima vs. Hyun Sung Park
  • Niko Price vs. Jeremiah Wells
  • Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Jan. 16: Mario Bautista makes notable climb

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC Fight Night 234 in Las Vegas.

The first UFC event of 2024 is in the books and while there weren’t a ton of contender fights featured, the card proved impactful for one bantamweight.

At UFC Fight Night 234, [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] defeated Ricky Simon by unanimous decision for arguably the biggest victory of his professional career. In doing so, he elevates to No. 11 in the USA Today Sports/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings.

UFC flyweight [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag] also enters the USA Today Sports/MMA Junkie flyweight rankings rankings as an honorable mention for the first time, thanks to his impressive TKO victory over LFA flyweight champion Felipe Bunes in the event’s curtain-jerker.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.