Joshua Van admittedly didn’t know that one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time was in the UFC. Van (16-2) won the flyweight title against Alexandre Pantoja via freak injury at UFC 323 last December. “The Fearless” had sparked controversy in the lead-up to the fight by calling Pantoja the greatest flyweight of all time. Fans immediately brought up Demetrious Johnson (25-4), who is widely considered not only the greatest flyweight, but perhaps the greatest MMA fighter of all time. Van later explained that he had not seen many of Johnson’s fights and that he grew up watching Pantoja.
Not a historian
Van recently revealed that he didn’t even know Johnson was in the UFC. The UFC flyweight champion only knew ‘Mighty Mouse’ from highlights of his viral flyweight knockout against Adriano Moraes.“I swear to God, I didn’t know he was in the UFC,” Van said on the channel
“Jaxxon Podcast.” “I saw him fight in ONE Championship. His highlight was everywhere when he knocked the guy out with a flying knee… Now I know him, but I’ve never seen his fights.”
Johnson defended the UFC flyweight title 11 times before losing it to Henry Cejudo in 2018. Johnson was surprisingly traded to ONE Championship in exchange for Ben Askren after the loss. Johnson had an illustrious career in ONE Championship, where he became flyweight champion. Johnson officially hung up his gloves in 2024 and became the first member of the ONE Championship Hall of Fame.
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