Who will Joshua Van 🇲🇲 fight next?
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Not confirmed: no opponent or date has been officially announced as of 1 Oct 2026. The percentages below are estimates.
Last fight: W vs Alexandre Pantoja (Decision (unanimous)), UFC 331, 19 Sep 2026
Most likely Manel Kape (55%), Early 2027 (expected). Nothing announced..
Updated (UAE time) · Percentages are NextSmash model estimates, not facts or betting advice.
Confirmed Official
Nothing confirmed yet. No opponent, event or date has been officially announced for Joshua Van as of 1 Oct 2026.
Latest status: Champion. Beat Pantoja at UFC 331 (19 Sep) and said afterwards that he'd torn his AC joint before the fight. Last fight: Beat Alexandre Pantoja (Decision (unanimous), UFC 331, 19 Sep 2026).
Forecast: likely opponents Model estimate
Each percentage is the estimated chance of being his next opponent. These are not chances of winning.
- 55%chance next opponentReported as the expected next defence (early 2027). Van tore his AC joint before UFC 331, so timing is open.Likely event: Early 2027 (expected). Nothing announced.
Field / other: 45%. This covers everyone not listed above.
- Likely event
- Early 2027 (expected). Nothing announced.
- Last fight
- Win vs Alexandre Pantoja · Decision (unanimous) R5 5:00 · UFC 331 · 19 Sep 2026
- Career stage
- Champion.
- Confidence
- Medium (High = officially booked · Medium = reported or a fighter's own claim · Low = model only)
- Last updated
- (UAE time)
What changed?
- Boxing News: Van's next defence expected vs Kape, early 2027 · source
- Sherdog: Kape says he'll make the Van fight look 'easy' · source
- MMA Junkie: UFC 331 matchmaker, Kape is the clear next challenger; Van tore his AC joint · source
Only dated items with a source are listed: news reports used for the estimate, plus changes to our logged estimates.
Fight history Pro record 18-2-0
| Result | Opponent | Method | Rd | Time | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Alexandre Pantoja 🇧🇷 | Decision (unanimous) · R5, 5:00 | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 331 | |
| W | Tatsuro Taira 🇯🇵 | TKO (front kick to the body and punches) · R5, 1:32 | 5 | 1:32 | UFC 328 | |
| W | Alexandre Pantoja 🇧🇷 | TKO (arm injury) · R1, 0:26 | 1 | 0:26 | UFC 323 | |
| W | Brandon Royval 🇺🇸 | Decision (unanimous) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | UFC 317 | |
| W | Bruno Gustavo da Silva | TKO (punches) · R3, 4:01 | 3 | 4:01 | UFC 316 | |
| W | Rei Tsuruya 🇯🇵 | Decision (unanimous) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | UFC 313 | |
| W | Cody Durden | Decision (unanimous) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | UFC 310 | |
| W | Édgar Cháirez | Decision (unanimous) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | UFC 306 | |
| L | Charles Johnson 🇺🇸 | KO (punches) · R3, 0:20 | 3 | 0:20 | UFC on ESPN: Namajunas vs. Cortez | |
| W | Felipe Bunes | TKO (punches) · R2, 4:31 | 2 | 4:31 | UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 | |
| W | Kevin Borjas | Decision (unanimous) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | UFC 295 | |
| W | Zhalgas Zhumagulov | Decision (split) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | UFC on ABC: Emmett vs. Topuria | |
| W | Cleveland McLean | Submission (rear-naked choke) · R2, 4:49 | 2 | 4:49 | Fury FC 72 | |
| W | Paris Moran | TKO (punches) · R2, 0:36 | 2 | 0:36 | Fury FC 67 | |
| W | Mario Suazo | Submission (calf slicer) · R2, 4:23 | 2 | 4:23 | Fury FC 62 | |
| W | Angelo Trujillo | KO (head kick) · R1, 1:36 | 1 | 1:36 | Fury FC 60 | |
| W | Francisco Obando | TKO (punches) · R1, 3:08 | 1 | 3:08 | Fury FC 57 | |
| L | Devon Jackson | Submission (rear-naked choke) · R2, 4:58 | 2 | 4:58 | Fury FC 55 | |
| W | Chase Eastham | TKO (punches) · R2, 3:24 | 2 | 3:24 | Fury FC 54 | |
| W | Tony Esquivel | TKO (knees to the body) · R2, 2:14 | 2 | 2:14 | Fury FC 52 |
Professional MMA bouts only, newest first. Source: Wikipedia (checked 2 Oct 2026).
Joshua Van: frequently asked questions
When is Joshua Van's next fight?
No fight is officially booked as of 1 Oct 2026. Our outlook: Early 2027 (expected). Nothing announced.
Who did Joshua Van fight last?
Joshua Van beat Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331 on 19 Sep 2026 (Decision (unanimous) R5 5:00).
Who is Joshua Van likely to fight next?
NextSmash model estimate: Manel Kape (55%). Updated 1 Oct 2026. These are estimates, not facts or betting advice.
What is Joshua Van's record?
18-2-0 (wins-losses-draws) in professional MMA, as listed on UFC.com (checked 1 Oct 2026).
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Other flyweight fighters
- Alexandre Pantoja #1 · next: Almabayev–Horiguchi winner 20%
- Manel Kape #2 · next: Joshua Van 55%
- Brandon Royval #3 · next: Tatsuro Taira 18%
- Tatsuro Taira #4 · next: Brandon Royval 18%
- Kyoji Horiguchi #5 · next: Asu Almabayev 92%
More: Flyweight rankings and next fights · Myanmar UFC fighters
Sources
- UFC.com athlete profile (record, rank, last fight) · 1 Oct 2026
- UFC.com rankings (Media + Meta), checked 1 Oct 2026 · 1 Oct 2026
- ESPN fighter profile (country, fight history) · 1 Oct 2026
- Boxing News: Van's next defence expected vs Kape, early 2027 · 22 Sep 2026
- MMA Junkie: UFC 331 matchmaker, Kape is the clear next challenger; Van tore his AC joint · 20 Sep 2026
- Sherdog: Kape says he'll make the Van fight look 'easy' · 22 Sep 2026
Percentages are NextSmash model estimates from the factors shown above (see methodology). They are not facts, and not betting advice. Records and ranks come from UFC.com; country from ESPN. Checked 1 Oct 2026.