UFC 323’s Joshua Van will ‘be ready’ for Alexandre Pantoja despite going in with ‘no gameplan’

Game plans? Who needs ’em.

Fast-rising No. 1 contender Joshua Van will compete for his first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title this weekend (Sat., Dec. 6, 2025), when he challenges Flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja in the co-main event of UFC 323 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pantoja hasn’t tasted defeat since July 2020 — a unanimous decision loss to Askar Askarov — and has since dominated nearly every opponent put in front of him. Most fighters would be meticulously game-planning for a champion on a dominant run like that.

Van isn’t most fighters.

“I don’t have any game plan, to be honest, it’s wherever the fight goes,” Van told Ariel Helwani. “You can make game plans and things like that, but come fight day, it can be a whole different game. You know what I mean?Whatever he brings, I’ll be ready. If it wants to strike, we’ll strike. If he wants to go to the ground, I’m ready for that.

The 24-year-old did admit he’s watched plenty of tape on Pantoja, but he refuses to lock himself into a rigid approach.

“I just don’t want to focus on one thing — it’s wherever the fight goes,” Van said. “What we see on TV and what happens when we’re locked in the cage together is different. I’m the type of guy who likes to adjust to his style, so I’ll adjust to whatever he brings that day. I’m knocking him out inside three rounds.”

Van enters the fight as a +200 underdog and rides a five-fight winning streak into the biggest moment of his career.

Check out who else is fighting on UFC 323 right here.