Joshua
Van entered his second flyweight title defense with a
significant shoulder injury.
Van retained his
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight belt on Sept. 19 at
Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, defeating former champion Alexandre
Pantoja by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC
331. “The Fearless” has revealed that he had a less-than-ideal
training camp for the rematch.
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Joshua Van says shoulder injury kept him from sparring for most
of Alexandre Pantoja camp
At the post-fight press conference, Van said he injured the AC
joint in his right shoulder following the pre-fight presser in
August in Philadelphia and was unable to spar normally for much of
camp, relying primarily on cardio training.
“Coming into this fight after the press conference in Philly, I
tore my AC joint in my right shoulder and I couldn’t even spar,”
Van said. “So, the last two weeks was my first time sparring, and
this camp we did nothing but cardio. Just running and stuff like
that. I’ve got to go back there and get MRIs and get checked up, so
hopefully nothing major.”
Considering he’s coming off an injury, Van is unlikely to return to
action for a third title defense this year. He didn’t call out any
of the flyweight contenders after beating Pantoja, saying that
he’ll accept whomever the UFC offers. Top-ranked 125-pounder
Manel
Kape, who has finished his last four opponents, is seemingly
the frontrunner.