Joshua Van: Embracing the Mexican fighting spirit

“When Jason called me, I said, ‘I can’t say no,'” recalled Van, who cut his evening short to begin preparing for UFC 306.

“I thought I had to go,” said Van, who was looking to take a little break after being stopped by Charles Johnson in July. It was only the second loss of Van’s career and the first of a UFC career that began with three wins over Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Borjas and Felipe Bunes. But now it was time to get back to work.

“Short term is always difficult, but we managed to get what I needed,” he said. “Once you push yourself that hard, your body kind of gets used to it. The first two days were tough, but after that it was like a normal day.”

UFC306: Fight by Fight Preview | How to watch | Schedule of public events

In other words, Van is ready to face a Mexican fighter on the Riyad Season Noche UFC card on Mexican Independence Day. Van doesn’t believe he will be the “bad guy” on Saturday night.

“I’m Mexican myself,” laughs the Myanmar native. “I came here when I was 12 and I’ll soon be 23. So I’ve been around Mexicans for almost half my life and they see me as a Mexican too. So I don’t see myself as the bad guy.”

Well, Mexico won’t be on Van’s birth certificate, but the Daniel Pineda-trained flyweight has that Mexican fighting spirit in him and he knows it.