LAS VEGAS – Joshua Van isn’t surprised, folks.

While he wowed viewers Saturday in the UFC 317 featured fight, during which he defeated perennial contender Brandon Royval by unanimous decision to earn a title shot against Alexandre Pantoja, Van (15-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) was confident all along.

“Me and my team always know what we can do,” Van told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference at T-Mobile Arena. “Nothing surprised me. I knew I was always going to be here at the No. 1 spot. Remember I bring my name? Now, it’s No. 1: Joshua Van.

“… Royval is a tricky motherf*cker. Just when I thought he got no power and trying to go forward, he got sneaky power. That’s what caught me off guard and things like that. He’s No. 1 for a reason. Man, he’s tough. I love that guy. Shoutout to that guy for giving me a chance to fight with him.”

Van, 23, extended his winning streak to five with the victory. Saturday’s win was his second in 22 days.

The promotion was impressed enough with Van to have him cageside minutes after his win, to spectate Pantoja’s title fight submission of Kai Kara-France, and then enter the cage to square off with the champion – a declaration of the division’s next title fight.

“I just watched his fight to watch because I never studied him,” Van said. “I’m like, one fight at a time. After this, we go back and we’re going to study him. This is a new era of fighting. … The legacy that he has in this division, just beating him is just going to be greater for my legacy, too.”

Van has predominantly showed off his striking thus far in his UFC career, but said not to sleep on his grappling.

“You know my takedown defense is on point, too,” Van said. “He’s never fought Joshua Van. Soon, we’re going to find out. … I’m Joshua Van. I don’t fight like these guys. It’s going to be a whole different fight.”

A lot was gained by Saturday’s win. There’s been an increase in notoriety. A title challenger pay increase is headed his way. He’s one fight away from gold. But more than all else, Van is most enthused he’ll be able to proudly carry his native country Myanmar’s flag to the cage when he steps into the biggest of stages.

“It means everything,” Van said. “It means everything just to be able to represent my country. The new generation is seeing me doing this thing. A couple years ago, they never thought a Myanmar Burmese person would’ve gotten to this level. Now that they see me doing it, a lot of new generation be hitting me up to go to the gyms and stuff like that. It opened a lot of eyes, not just with the kids but with the parents like that, too. I’m very, very happy.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Joshua Van explains why he’ll beat Alexandre Pantoja in first UFC title bid

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