By:  | November 12, 2023 10:37 am

The first Burmese fighter to ever compete in the UFC won again this morning. Joshua Van was born in Hakha but has been living and training in Texas.

The Myanmar born flyweight was making his second appearance in the octagon at UFC 295 this morning and his pay per view debut. He faced Kevin Borjas and beat the Peruvian by decision.

Fight fans in Myanmar might have been oblivious to the fact that one of their fighters was competing in the UFC. But Van put himself on the international map by winning at Madison Square Garden today.

 

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Ripping punches

The two flyweights put on a show and could both be in the mix when the bonuses are being announced. After a slow start Borjas knocked Van down with a right hand in the opening round.

He followed up with a flying knee and blood was trickling from Van’s nose by the end of the round. He landed a one two followed by another flying knee at the start of the second but the man from Myanmar just kept coming forwards.

Van landed a head kick which seemed to stop Borjas in his tracks. The Burmese fighter started to come on strong, ripping punches to the body and head.

Passionate fans

The momentum was with Van heading into the third and he took his opponent down only for the Peruvian to bounce straight back up. A right hand from Borjas stopped him in his tracks and he immediately went for another takedown.

He moved into side control and was looking to latch onto the arm when Borjas swept and reversed. He briefly had Van’s back the but the Burmese flyweight slipped out and finished the fight in top position.

With the win he improves to 9-1 while his opponent drops to 9-2. There are some passionate MMA fans in Myanmar and if Van continues winning he will surely become a favourite in the country of his birth.

Catchweight contest

Meanwhile Korean Kyung Ho Kang lost to John Castaneda at UFC 295 this morning. The two men went to war in their catchweight contest which was set at 138lbs but it was the American who emerged with a decision win.

Castenada looked to land low kicks from the southpaw stance in the opening round. He found his mark with Kang’s left leg starting to bear the brunt of the damage.

Kang did land a couple of straight right hands but the American was firmly in control at this point. The Korean looked determined at the start of the second and landed a hard right.

It was Kang’s best moment of the round as Castaneda started to dominate. The Korean complained about a low blow but it was one way traffic at this stage.

Castaneda was on the receiving end of a low blow at the start of the third but was determined to continue. He finished strongly to earn a clear cut decision win with all three scorecards reading 30-27.

Kyung Ho Kang drops to 19-10-0-1 and snaps his remarkable streak of always winning three UFC fights out of four. Castaneda climbs to 21-6.

 

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Best of the rest

Alex Pereira spoiled Jiří Procházka’s comeback. The Czech fighter was returning after a undergoing shoulder surgery and challenging for the light heavyweight title he had been forced to give up after the injury.

Pereira is the former UFC middleweight champion and now holds a second title after stopping Procházka late in the second round. He moves up to 7-1 while his opponent drops to 29-4-1.

UFC 295, New York, November 11th
Alex Pereira def. Jiří Procházka via TKO (Elbows) at 4:08 of R2
Tom Aspinall def. Sergei Pavlovich via KO (Punches) at 1:09 of R1
Jéssica Andrade def. Mackenzie Dern via TKO (Punches) at 3:15 of R2
Benoît Saint-Denis def. Matt Frevola via KO (Head kick) at 1:31 of R1
Diego Lopes def. Pat Sabatini via KO (Punches) at 1:30 of R1
Steve Erceg def. Alessandro Costa via Decision (Unanimous)
Loopy Godinez def. Tabatha Ricci via Decision (Split)
Mateusz Rębecki def. Roosevelt Roberts via Submission (Armbar) at 3:08 of R1
Nazim Sadykhov vs. Viacheslav Borshchev via Draw (Majority)
Jared Gordon def. Mark Madsen via TKO (Elbow and punches) at 4:42 of R1
John Castañeda def. Kang Kyung-Ho via Decision (Unanimous)
Joshua Van def. Kevin Borjas via Decision (Unanimous)
Jamall Emmers def. Dennis Buzukja via TKO (Punches) at 0:49 of R1