
Notts edge first-leg win as Chesterfield rue early pen miss
Notts County takes a 1-0 lead over Chesterfield in League Two play-off semi-final
Joshua Van revealed that a serious knee injury delayed his title defense against Tatsuro Taira from UFC 327 to UFC 328. Van won the fight via fifth round TKO, showcasing no signs of the injury during the match.
Mentioned in this story
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 09: Joshua Van of Myanmar reacts after a TKO victory against Tatsuro Taira of Japan in the UFC flyweight championship fight during the UFC 328 event at Prudential Center on May 09, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Joshua Van has revealed the injury that pushed his title defense against Tatsuro Taira from last monthâs UFC 327 to last nightâs UFC 328.
Van beat Taira via fifth round TKO, battering the Japanese challenger badly until the referee decided heâd seen enough. If there were any lingering effects of the mystery injury that forced âFearlessâ to delay their fight, we couldnât see it. In a new interview with Full Send MMA after his win, Van laid out what had happened.
âIt was serious, man. It was bad,â Van said. âI couldnât run. Even this camp, I couldnât run until the last two weeks. Bro, my knee was fâked.â
The 24 year old flyweight champ admitted it wasnât his decision to pull out of the April 11th date.
âIt was Daniel Pineda and my coaches, they had a little meeting and said, âWe gotta call it off, man,'â he said. âThere was nothing I could do for cardio. I did the bike and stuff like that, sparred sometimes, but my knee was fâked, bro.â
This isnât the first time Van has had knee issues, although it was the first time he didnât compete due to them.
Joshua Van disclosed that he suffered a serious knee injury that prevented him from running during training until the last two weeks before UFC 328.
Joshua Van won the fight against Tatsuro Taira via fifth round TKO, dominating the match until the referee stopped it.
The fight was postponed due to Joshua Van's serious knee injury, which he revealed in a post-fight interview.

Notts County takes a 1-0 lead over Chesterfield in League Two play-off semi-final

Arteta commends bravery of officials after VAR disallows West Ham equalizer

2026 Mizuho Americas Open: Prize Money for Each LPGA Player
Patriots rookie Caleb Lomu aims for Super Bowl glory in 2026!
See every story in Sports â including breaking news and analysis.
âWhen I fought [Alexandre] Pantoja and when I fought at Noche UFC, I had an LCL tear and I fought through that,â he revealed. âSo this is nothing new. But the coaches saw me take a day off. To them, that never happens. Iâm the guy they tell to take a rest, so thatâs probably why they called off the fight.â
The decision seeks like a sound one in retrospect. While Van laid some serious damage down on Taira, the Japanese fighter never quit and continued to engage for the entire fight. If Vanâs movement or cardio was off, it might have cost him the fight.
Now weâll have to see how long the defending champion takes to turn around and compete again. Alexandre Pantoja was cageside for Joshua Vanâs win at UFC 328 and clearly wants a chance to regain his belt after the freak injury from their first fight. But could it be time for Van to take a rest and let his knee heal up properly? Even if itâs just a more typical four month stretch, you canât argue Joshua doesnât deserve a break.