An MMA analyst believes Joshua Van might not but have the solutions to unravel a champion as skilled as Alexandre Pantoja. Van is about to problem reigning UFC flyweight champion Pantoja within the UFC 323 co-main occasion this Saturday on the T-Cell Enviornment in Las Vegas.
“The Fearless” is coming off a unanimous choice victory over former title challenger Brandon Royval at UFC 317 in June, an announcement win that secured him the championship alternative. He enters UFC 323 on a five-fight win streak, and other than a lone knockout loss to Charles Johnson at UFC Denver in July 2024, the 24-year-old expertise out of Myanmar has been flawless within the promotion, profitable eight of his final 9 bouts.
Many pundits imagine Van has the instruments to offer Pantoja actual issues within the combat, notably within the hanging exchanges. Nonetheless, Din Thomas sees it in a different way, arguing that Van is strolling right into a stylistic nightmare towards “The Cannibal.
Din Thomas Dismisses Joshua Van’s Odds, Says He’s Not “At The Degree” To Dethrone Alexandre Pantoja
Throughout a latest interview with MMA Junkie, UFC analyst Din Thomas gave his tackle the flyweight title combat between Alexandre Pantoja and Joshua Van at UFC 323. The MMA veteran mentioned that Pantoja is poised to check Van with a relentless sequence of grappling threats that would shortly expose any gaps within the younger contender’s recreation.
“I believe Pantoja, I don’t need to say walks via him, however I believe stylistically, he has all the benefits to make this look precisely the way in which he beat Kai Kara-France, and I believe it’s going to look just like that,” Thomas mentioned.
Thomas pointed to expertise because the defining issue, suggesting “The Fearless” might not but be on the identical aggressive tier as Pantoja, and believes this obvious hole makes the matchup really feel a step too early for Van.
“And I say this with all due respect as a result of Joshua Van, like Waldo Cortes-Acosta, is one in all my favourite fighters proper now. However stylistically, I simply don’t assume he’s on the degree proper now to have the ability to take care of Pantoja. This man’s solely been doing this for 5 years. Like, Pantoja was in all probability a black belt 5 years in the past so, I believe it’s just a little untimely for him.”
