Young Joshua Van had asked his mother why they were living in Houston when he was 12. He wanted to go back home to Myanmar where everything was familiar. The young Van did not have an easy life dealing with a new language and bullying from his schoolmates when he shifted to America. But his own country was wrought with political turmoil and war, hence his family had to flee to the US.
So he had to take all the struggles in and fight—in life, and eventually in the Octagon. “Myself – I love myself!” is what he said to UFC when asked about his favorite fighter. Thankfully, he is proving this with each passing day and already has a record of 12-2-0 at just 22. On top of that, he has 5-1 in the UFC, registering his last win over Cody Durden at UFC 310. Now, he is making his country proud by becoming the first Burmese fighter to compete in the UFC. In his 7th UFC outing at UFC 313, he will carry the flag of Myanmar to the Octagon.
Why is Joshua Van carrying a Myanmar flag?
“I was a small kid,” Van recently told MMA Junkie. “From where I come from, you get picked on. It’s, kind of, like I fight every day—and I got to the point where I enjoyed fighting. I watched clips on street fights and how to win street fights. I tried it in my next fight and things like that. That’s what got me into my career.”
Born in Hakha, Myanmar in October 2001, Van grew up in a house of five siblings. Myanmar (formerly Burma) has had a history of political instability. So, it’s no surprise that his parents decided to move to Malaysia before finally moving to Houston, Texas when Joshua was 12. Of course, moving to a new country and not knowing the language, especially for a middle school child can be a harrowing experience. His experiences with bullies and love for Bruce Lee movies saw him venture into mixed martial arts. The rest, as they say, is history.
So to answer the million-dollar question, Joshua Van carrying the Myanmar flag to the Octagon represents the history of turmoil and adversity he’s had to face and overcome, largely reflective of the people of his home country. The fighter has fought tooth and nail to get where he is, and his record is very telling of the kind of fighter he is.
In 2020, ‘The Fearless’ made his amateur debut and within a year—turned professional in 2021. He won Fury FC gold in December and was finally signed for a short-notice fight at UFC on ABC 5. This was already a historic moment in his career because he became the first fighter from his native country to enter the UFC banner. This itself was a historic moment for the promotion, and the fighter—as Joshua Van became the first fighter from Myanmar to fight under the UFC’s banner.
But making history didn’t stop there. Van also garnered Myanmar’s first victory in UFC history, when he conquered Zhalgas Zhumagulov via split decision.“It meant a lot of things for me,” Van said to MMA Junkie. “It meant everything to me, to be able to represent my country on the biggest stage. It felt amazing, man. The only thing was I can’t have my flag in there, man. If I were able to have the Myanmar flag in there, that would be amazing. That’s the only thing that was going on.”
Where is Joshua Van from?
As we’ve seen through this article, Joshua Van is from Myanmar and even though he loves his country a lot, carrying the flag to the Octagon comes with its share of complications. The UFC flyweight prospect, after all, is the first UFC champion from the besieged country of Myanmar. With all the turmoil from his childhood and finally coming close to his dream, he is determined to win. He has put his blood, sweat, and tears into his goals and proved his mettle before coming into the UFC.
Now Van is preparing for UFC 313 and the 22-year-old is fighting Rei Tsuruya. He can finally represent his country and bring the flag of Myanmar. The lack of representation of his country’s flag was a little dicey to him. But that might mainly be because of the lack of awareness that the promotion officials had about the country.
As per MMA Junkie he said, “I think it was the commission or something, they didn’t know if Myanmar was a country or not. That’s what they told me. I was pulling out Googles and sh*t to show them that Myanmar is a country. The UFC team worked on getting my flag, especially after my last fight, the win, where I wore the mouth guard. That played a big part.”
What do you think? Will we see the Burmese fighter wave the Myanmar flag in the Octagon? More importantly, will he win his UFC 313 bout against Rei Tsuruya? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
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