Van entered the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday hoping to defeat Alexandre Pantoja and become a UFC champion for the first time in his young MMA career. The 24-year-old entered the fight with a lot of momentum thanks to his unanimous decision victory over Brandon Royval.
It turned out that Van Pantoja defeated in 26 seconds, but that was not due to a spectacular performance. Instead, Pantoja suffered a nasty shoulder injury that quickly ended the fight. As a result, Van was awarded the TKO victory.
During the post-fight press conference of UFC 323, Van railed against those who targeted him for their frustration with how things played out (h/t MMA Junkie).
“F*ck them,” Van said. “If you do well, they talk nonsense, and if you do poorly, they talk nonsense, so do what makes you happy. It doesn’t matter what they think, I won.”
Still, Van did not want his victory to be marred by such circumstances. He is willing to give Pantoja a rematch to make things right.
“Once he recovers, I want to reverse it because I have so much respect for him,” Van said. “He’s one of the greatest of all time, and stuff like that, so I’d like to go with him.”
The problem is that Pantoja isn’t expected to fight again anytime soon. UFC CEO Dana White said that while he is not a doctor, it is easy to understand why the now former UFC flyweight champion has not been seen in the Octagon for some time.
Luckily for the UFC brass, a new flyweight prospect has emerged. Tatsuro Taira scored a TKO finish over Brandon Moreno on Saturday. Although the break was controversial, one cannot deny the excitement that Taira brings. Many believe Taira fits Van’s crowd-pleasing fighting style, which could make for a memorable title fight if the match is booked.
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