New UFC Flyweight champion says Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is the reason he started MMA

Newly-crowned UFC Flyweight world champion Joshua Van revealed that Manny Pacquiao was the reason he started training MMA.

The 24-year-old became the youngest UFC world champion since Jon Jones after beating longtime champion Alexandre Pantoja via TKO in the co-main event at UFC 323.

At the UFC’s Countdown show, Van told a story of how his aunt disciplined him after standing up to his bullies, citing Manny Pacquiao as an example of a “real man.”

“I got bruises on my face when I fought. “I would go home, and my auntie would say, ‘Hey, you think you’re a real man?” Van said. “Anybody can fight on the street, a real man fights for his family, his country, just look at Manny Pacquiao.”

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𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙒𝙒𝙒 🏆

Joshua Van is the UFC flyweight champion#UFC323 pic.twitter.com/dUXyq6WAjE

— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) December 7, 2025

His aunt’s words, Van said, affected him deeply, becoming a motivation for him to take up combat sports.

“[My auntie] basically called me a b**** without saying it,” he said.

“That night I couldn’t sleep. But then I decided I was going to train. So I searched up the closest gym near me, and that’s when I started fighting,” added Van.

18 fights later, Van is now on top of the world and has also become the first Asian-born male to become UFC world champion.

The Malaysian has been one of the company’s top rising stars in the Flyweight division, having a five-fight win streak before the title bout that included a Fight of the Night victory against former world champion contender Brandon Royval.

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