It’s just not in Brandon Royval’s nature to back down from a challenge. Originally scheduled to face Manel Kape on the card, Royval took a big risk accepting the fight against a much lower ranked opponent like Van but he acknowledged that’s just how he’s built.

Minutes after his UFC 317 win over Kai Kara-France, Pantoja (30-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) was quite literally faced with his next opponent. Into the cage at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas walked Joshua Van, who defeated Brandon Royval in a thrilling title eliminator just one fight prior.

The UFC flyweight division has a new #1 contender and his name is Joshua Van. The 23-year-old fighter from Houston, by way of Myanmar, became the next title challenger overnight with a ‘fight of the year’ worthy win against Brandon Royval at UFC 317.