Joshua Van was about to reach for the liquor when the phone rang.
The occasion was part celebration – and part surprise party. Van (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) had purchased a house for his mother and was about to hand over the keys, surrounded by friends and family.
When Van picked up, it was his manager Jason House. Less than 48 hours after his UFC 316 win over Bruno Silva, Van’s services were sought by matchmaker Mick Maynard once again.
With Manel Kape out of UFC 317, Brandon Royval needed a new opponent. Van quickly said yes.
“My mom right now, she can’t eat,” Van said during an interview with MMA Junkie Radio on Tuesday. “She can’t sleep. She was happy when we did the surprise and I was like, ‘Hey mom, we got another fight – in three weeks.’ She was like, ‘What?’ Her face just changed then and there. But yeah, she knows what I’m doing. She’s going to be there – every fight.”
Once the (dry) celebration ended, Van was right back in the gym. He said he has “no scratch” coming out of the performance Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., during which he notched his fourth win in a row.
Van is maintaining the most disciplined preparation of his career, calling his next fight a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. The bout will be his second fight in 22 days.
“”I think there should be more pressure on him because the up-and-coming guy is fighting the No. 1 guy, especially on short notice,” Van said. “For me, there’s nothing to lose. When I say that, I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, he doesn’t care if he loses.’ I want to win. I’m going to go in there and do my thing. But I’m saying this is a once-in-a-lifetime-type opportunity-type sh*t. I’m going to go in there and three weeks is a perfect fight camp for me. This is a full camp. No excuses. So there’s no pressure on me.”
The June 28 card in Las Vegas also features the division’s next title fight, as champion Alexandre Pantoja aims to keep his long-running reign in tact vs. Kai Kara-France. Given its alignment with the championship bout and where Royval is at in the division, Van thinks the stakes are high.
“A title, it’s got to be (for the winner), right?” Van said. “If I beat the No. 1 guy, I’m the No. 1 guy. When I beat him, I’m going to wait for the belt. That’s the only fight I’m going to do after that.”
Great reward potential means the challenge is also great. Van isn’t taking the surging Royval (17-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC) lightly. Royval has won back-to-back fights and five of his most recent six. His only loss during that stretch was a title challenge vs. Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC).
“This is going to be a tough fight, just because he has the same style I have,” Van said. “He’s longer and stuff like that. He likes pressuring guys, too, just like I like pressuring guys. It’s going to be who adjusts to whose style first. I’m going to have to adjust to his style before he adjusts to my fighting style. It’s going to be depending on who outsmarts who. I’m trying to outsmart him on everything.”
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