Joshua Van’s UFC 323 celebration drew plenty of backlash, but one MMA veteran believes the criticism is misplaced. “The Fearless” finally fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a UFC champion last Saturday, though the moment came without the gratification of actually defeating defending flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.
The fight came to an abrupt end when Pantoja dislocated his shoulder just seconds into the bout. The injury happened after Van caught his leg on a head-kick attempt, sending “The Cannibal” crashing to the canvas and landing awkwardly on his left arm.
What initially appeared to be a simple shoulder dislocation looked far worse on replay. Pantoja’s left elbow visibly twisted out of place, his arm bending in a way it was never meant to. Sitting on the canvas in clear agony, he signaled he couldn’t go on, prompting the referee to wave off the fight only 26 seconds after it began.
After the bout was stopped and Van was officially named the new champion, he showcased the flyweight belt with pride. That celebration didn’t sit well with many fighters and fans, who criticized the 24-year-old Burmese talent for embracing the moment despite not truly defeating Pantoja. But Matt Brown doesn’t see it as a big deal at all.
Matt Brown Defends Joshua Van’s UFC 323 Celebration
During a recent episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, MMA legend Matt Brown offered his take on Joshua Van’s UFC 323 celebration. “The Immortal” came to Van’s defense, saying the young fighter had every right to enjoy the moment.
Brown expressed that “The Fearless” spent his entire life chasing the dream of becoming a UFC champion, and finally reaching that goal is what matters most.
“To be honest when it’s for a title like that, I don’t want to hate on Joshua Van for it,” Brown said. “Because here’s what the fact is — this dude has spent his whole life, a very short life of his, about half of mine — even if not his whole life for the last however many years, his entire life has been on getting to this single goal, which is an exceptionally high goal.
“This isn’t ‘I want to have a million dollar net worth by the time I’m 30’ or some shit. This is an insanely hard to reach goal and he got it. How he got it, does it really matter? They put a belt around his waist. This is what he dreamed about. This is what he visualized. This is what he put the work in for. So I can understand that side.”
