Anderson Silva and Jon Jones have been two of the certified GOATs of this sport. Their names often show up on the Mount Rushmore of MMA thanks to their legendary achievements. But it’s also true that these two icons weren’t immune to making mistakes — whether inside the cage or outside. What matters is learning from those mistakes, and that’s usually what sparks the transformation toward becoming better. In this case, a rising flyweight title challenger has picked up a few key lessons from their missteps.

‘The Spider’ cemented his legacy with a record 16 straight wins in the UFC. But he couldn’t grab the 17th. At UFC 162, he got a little too confident against Chris Weidman, constantly lowering his guard, even showboating — and he paid for it by way of a clean knockout loss that shocked the world. Now, Joshua Van, at just 23 years old and set to challenge Alexandre Pantoja for the 125-pound title, recently went to war with Brandon Royval at UFC 317, where he landed a record-breaking 419 combined significant strikes. His biggest takeaway from that bout? He needs to tighten up his defense.

Van told Bruce Buffer in a YouTube interview, “Man, I learned that I need to work on my defense a lot more. You know, getting hit that much in the fight, it wasn’t like it didn’t feel great afterwards. When I was in the fight, I was enjoying it and everything. But after the fight, I was really feeling all those punches and stuff like that.” But that’s not all.

The 23-year-old flyweight title challenger also seems to have picked up lessons from Jon Jones’ journey. Inside the cage, ‘Bones’ rarely made mistakes. But outside of it, chaos followed him everywhere he went. Van seems to understand the importance of keeping his personal circle tight, especially now that he’s entering the spotlight and finding new levels of stardom.

He added, “So, when you get a win like that, you know, new people start trying to come around and things like that. Sometimes it’s not always a good thing. But I already know who’s been with me from the beginning, so I like to keep my circle small.”

These are some solid lessons! However, as Van moves closer to his title fight with Alexandre Pantoja, the pressure is naturally building. But is he actually feeling any of it? Let’s take a look at what he thinks about his upcoming matchup.

Joshua Van is confident of his showdown against Alexandre Pantoja

Van showed he could outgun a battle-tested machine like Brandon Royval on short notice. But it’s going to take more than just grit and impeccable striking to dethrone a champion like Alexandre Pantoja — especially when the champ’s wins keep getting more impressive each time out. And let’s not ignore the concern around this matchup: ‘The Cannibal’ has been mauling opponents with his elite BJJ.

Still, Van is feeling more confident than ever. He believes he’s not going to make it easy for the current 125-pound champ when they finally square off. Speaking to Bruce Buffer in the same interview, he said,

“I feel like he’s gonna have a hard time fighting a guy like me too. Because the guys he fought before, they gave him too much respect. But I don’t think he’s ever fought a guy with as much confidence as me going forward. So, I think it’s gonna be a battle between a striker and a grappler.

Well, it looks like we’re heading into a classic striker vs grappler showdown, and all eyes will be on whether Van can stay upright and fend off the takedowns. That said, the 23-year-old clearly has that X-factor in him — something special that could flip the script at any moment with his power and precision striking.

So, what do you think? Can Joshua Van pull off the upset in his next fight? If you think so, let us know how in the comments section below!