UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van is hearing it from one of the division\u2019s top contenders just weeks after his UFC 323 title win.<\/p>\n
Joshua Van capped off his historic run up the UFC flyweight rankings with a title win at UFC 323 over Alexandre Pantoja. Just seconds into their fight, Pantoja suffered an injury after being taken to the canvas during a grappling exchange, forcing the referee to step in and wave off the fight.<\/p>\n
Despite an immediate rematch with Pantoja warranted, Van could potentially face another top contender for his first title defense as Pantoja continues to recover from his injury. This opens the door to the likes of Manel Kape, Brandon Moreno, and Tatsuro Taira to potentially be Van\u2019s next opponent.<\/p>\n
If Kape gets his shot against Van in the coming months, he\u2019s expecting the fight to look like a crime scene.<\/p>\n
Manel Kape: UFC protecting Joshua Van \u2018from murder\u2019<\/p>\n
In a recent post to X<\/a>, Kape taunted the reigning UFC flyweight champ.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cJust the thought of it gives me chills,\u201d Kape said of fighting Van.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re literally protecting you from a murder that could happen alive.\u201d<\/p>\n Kape has every reason to be confident as he awaits his next UFC assignment. The rising contender most recently finished former title challenger Brandon Royval in December, just days after Van\u2019s title win.<\/p>\n