Van Retains Championship Belt 💪 #UFC #JoshuaVan #UFCHighlights

Any doubt over Joshua Van's bona fides as UFC flyweight champion after capturing the title when Alexandre Pantoja suffered an injury less than 30 seconds into their title fight were erased on Saturday night when Van survived a tough-as-nails challenger in Tatsuro Taira. Van scored a fifth-round stoppage in the co-main event of UFC 328 in Newark, New Jersey.

With the fight potentially hanging in the balance in the final round, Van opened up with big strikes. While Taira attempted to secure another takedown, Van cracked with heavy shots, eventually sending Taira reeling. As Van followed up with more big shots, the referee jumped in to halt the fight.

The official time of the stoppage was 1:32 of Round 5.

Van's next title challenge is expected to be a rematch with Pantoja, who suffered an arm injury in their title win. Van had no problem with the idea of a rematch.

"Pantoja, you better get your shit right," Van said. "We can run it back if you want."

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