"F*** them" - Joshua Van hits out at critics after his UFC 323 win over Alexandre Pantoja

Joshua Van (pictured) celebrating his flyweight title win. [Image courtesy: Getty Images]
Joshua Van (pictured) celebrating his flyweight title win [Image courtesy: Getty Images]

Joshua Van claimed the flyweight title at UFC 323, albeit in anticlimactic fashion. Van's crowning moment came as Alexandre Pantoja suffered an injury in the early moments of Round 1. The 24-year-old appears to realize his critics will have a field day with the result, and has issued a message.

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During an interview with Full Send MMA, Van addressed potential criticism over his title win, saying:

“Well, f**k them, because you do good, they'll say some s**t, you do bad, they'll say some s**t. So, do what makes you happy at the end of the day. I didn’t plan on doing that either; it just happened. Like I said, I want to run it back, man."
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Van added:

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"We put in the work, and we got the result. Now, it's time to celebrate. That's like four months, five months of training camp, so you've got to let your body relax a little bit and enjoy the moment."

Check out Joshua Van's comments below:

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At UFC 323, Pantoja started the fight strong, pushing the pace on his opponent. However, he lost his footing after attempting a head kick.

When he tried to break the fall with his left hand, he suffered a gruesome injury, which the UFC medical team has since diagnosed as a temporary shoulder dislocation. This forced the referee to call the fight 26 seconds into the first round, granting Van a TKO win by default.

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The Burmese-American is now the first Asian-born male to win an undisputed UFC title. He is also the second youngest fighter to claim championship laurels in the world's premier MMA promotion.

During his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Van urged the UFC to book a rematch while proclaiming that he's ready for all challengers.

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Edited by Ujwal Jain
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