Joshua Van was successful at UFC 295 last weekend and has now called out a ranked fighter for his next bout.
The 22-year-old defeated Kevin Borjas via unanimous decision inside Madison Square Garden, taking his UFC record to 2-0.
He is now looking to set up a fight with Steve Erceg, who also tasted victory on the same card. The Australian outpointed Alessandro Costa in the featured prelim fight, meaning he is also now 2-0 under the UFC banner.
Van believes the matchup with Erceg is a fun matchup for himself.
He said: “I really like the matchup [against] the guy that fought Alessandro [Costa].
“I met him in the hotel and I told him ‘Hey, respectfully, I want to fight you’. I hope I get the fight.
“I really like the matchup because I see one of his highlights on IG Reels and I like his striking. It’ll be a fun matchup for me.”
Van Reflects on His Second Victory Inside the UFC
The win over Borjas takes Van’s professional record to 9-1 and likely on the brink of the UFC rankings. However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for the Texan despite opening the fight as a moderate favourite.
He dropped the first round to the Peruvian, with Borjas outstripping Van due to his power and timing. But, ‘The Fearless’ managed to rally in rounds two and three, with his cardio and pace proving beneficial over his opponent.
Van revealed he was surprised by his opponent during the fight.
He said: “The crazy part is, he’s actually better than I thought! Shoutout to my opponent, he really pushed me to my limit.
“To be honest, I thought if I get his timing right [then] it would be an easy fight but he was strong, he was able to take my punches and everything – shoutout to him, man!
“We expected to come out strong in the first round, that was the plan.
“My plan was, when he throws that right, my plan was to meet him in the middle. [But], his shots were faster than I thought, his timing was a little faster than I thought and that’s why I got caught.”
Joshua Van Full Exclusive Interview
You can watch the full interview with Joshua Van below:
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