Joshua Van secured the biggest win of his career on Saturday when he thrillingly defeated former title challenger Brandon Royval by unanimous decision at UFC 317. It was his second win this month, as he had knocked out Bruno Silva at UFC 316 three weeks ago.

Having come in as the 12th-ranked flyweight in the world, Van will assuredly be the biggest gainer when the rankings are updated in a few days. The win may have also cemented him as the last hope of a division that badly needs new contenders amidst another dominant reign.

A Brief History Of UFC Flyweight Championship Reigns

For most of its existence, the UFC flyweight division was dominated by Demetrious Johnson, who notched a record 11 straight defenses before Henry Cejudo ended his streak in 2018. From there, “The Messenger”/”Triple C” had one defense against TJ Dillashaw before moving up to 135.

Deiveson Figueiredo eventually claimed the belt in the middle of 2020, beginning a highly-acclaimed rivalry with Brandon Moreno that saw the Mexican make history and eventually prevail.

Next came Alexandre Pantoja. Since dethroning Moreno in 2023, the Brazilian has been dominating his opponents, most recently submitting Kai Kara-France one fight after Van.

Van: The Build Begins

After Pantoja’s win, he was met inside the Octagon by Van, and the two shared a respectful staredown. It stood in stark contrast to what new lightweight king Ilia Topuria did after the main event: insult Paddy Pimblett, then shove him inside the cage.

In an era where negativity and hatred drive the build to most fights, seeing a pair of foes be amicable to each other is a welcome sight. After all, the champion and challenger cannot be any more different.

Pantoja has been quietly making his case as one of the very best to grace the Octagon. Outside of a superfight at bantamweight that he has said he is not interested in, however, he has not encountered the most enigmatic of opposition.

Van may be that man. Once the fight is booked, he will become the first person born in the 2000s to compete for a UFC title. That is the potential history that the promotion would like to emphasize in the build-up.

End Of My Joshua Van Rant

Pantoja’s dominance has gotten to the point that the UFC had to poach Kai Asakura and Kyoji Horiguchi from RIZIN. Even then, “The Cannibal” still beat the former, while the latter had to pull out of a fight scheduled for last week in Baku.

Elsewhere in the division, Manel Kape has proven too unreliable to be trusted with a major fight, having pulled out against Royval. Tatsuro Taira could have been the next name up, but he has also lost to Royval. The Japanese phenom’s next opponent, Amir Albazi, is himself coming off a loss to Moreno.

A loss for Van, coupled with a win for Pantoja, could have put the UFC on the brink of further flyweight desperation. Fortunately, it has instead found a potential messiah, a very young and dynamic one, whom executives will hope usurps the throne in his next fight.