Joshua Van claims UFC flyweight crown after champion’s early injury

Joshua Van has been crowned UFC flyweight champion after his title bout with reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja ended almost as soon as it began. The contest lasted just 26 seconds of the opening round, according to the report, before an injury prevented Pantoja from continuing. The article says Pantoja attacked Van with a kick during the exchange but hurt his hand and could not carry on. The abrupt finish handed the title to Van, turning a championship fight into a landmark moment for the 24-year-old fighter. Van’s victory also brought several milestones. He became the UFC’s first champion born in the 21st century, as well as the organization’s first Asian-born and Myanmar-born titleholder, the report says. The achievement places his name in the promotion’s record books at an unusually young age. The new champion reached the belt after ten UFC appearances. According to the article, he won nine of those fights, including his most recent six in a row, and suffered one defeat. That run carried him to the title opportunity and, after Pantoja’s injury forced the bout to stop, to the championship itself. The result was therefore both a rapid finish and a major career breakthrough for Van. While the decisive moment came through an injury rather than a prolonged contest, the report emphasizes the records attached to his win and the sequence of victories that led him to the top of the flyweight division.