Joshua Van calls Petr Yan fight for a second UFC belt 'ideal': 'We kind of have the same style'

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van has named bantamweight champion Petr Yan as the opponent he would most like to face in a bid for a second UFC title. Speaking on Outta Pocket with RG3, in comments reported by Bloody Elbow on Friday, October 30, and by MMA Sucka and MMA Scene on Saturday, Van described a fight with Yan for the 135-pound belt as "ideal" and said the Russian was a fighter he studied early in his career.

"That would be ideal, right? Petr Yan is someone I really watched when I first came into the game because I really like his style and we kind of have the same style, so I really watched him," Van said, according to Bloody Elbow.

No such fight has been discussed by the UFC, and Van has an official title defense booked first.

Kape comes first at UFC 336

The UFC announced during the UFC 333 broadcast on October 24 that Van will defend the flyweight title against Manel Kape in the main event of UFC 336 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on January 30, 2027. The co-main event is Carlos Prates vs Michael Morales for the interim welterweight title, according to UFC.com.

Van (18-2 MMA, 11-1 UFC, per MMA Junkie) has defended the belt against Tatsuro Taira and Alexandre Pantoja, beating Pantoja by decision in their UFC 331 rematch in September. Kape (23-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC) has won four straight fights by knockout, including stoppages of Brandon Royval and Kyoji Horiguchi. The two have argued for more than a year about who has been avoiding whom, as UFC.com put it, and Kape told Daniel Cormier earlier this month that the fight would be "too easy".

Bloody Elbow noted that Van has so far been known for defending his flyweight title as often as possible and had not previously talked about moving up in weight. MMA Sucka wrote that a win over Kape would leave Van with little left to prove at 125 pounds.

Yan's next move

Yan retained the bantamweight title on October 24 at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, beating Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision with three scores of 48-47 to go 2-1 in their trilogy. After the event, UFC CEO Dana White said the promotion was choosing between Sean O'Malley and Song Yadong as the next challenger, calling it "a good problem to have".

Yan was asked about a possible Van fight before UFC 333. In an interview with Full Violence, reported by Combat Sports UK, he was asked whether he would rather defend his belt against Van moving up or chase a second title himself.

"If someone's gonna move up and challenge me, you know, it's maybe a question for them, not for me. But, uh, personally, for myself, moving up, it sounds interesting, too, some way in the future, yeah," Yan said. He added that the featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, is his friend: "Just 145 champ is my friend, Alex Volkanovski, so I don't want to beat him up."

What it would take

As things stand, a Van vs Yan superfight would require Van to get past Kape in January and Yan to come through his next defense, against either O'Malley or Song. Bloody Elbow suggested that a Yan win over O'Malley could set up the super fight with Van. For now, the matchup is only a wish from the flyweight champion. No negotiations have been reported.