LAS VEGAS – Joshua Van beat Rei Tsuruya with a unanimous decision Saturday to close out the preliminary card at UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Van, who won for the third straight time, all by unanimous decision.
Joshua Van def. Rei Tsuruya
Result: Joshua Van def. Rei Tsuruya via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Updated records: Van (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), Tsuruya (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC)
Key stats: Although Tsuruya landed four takedowns, Van stuffed 17 others and tripled up on Tsuruya in the overall strike count.
Van on the fight’s key moment
“I wanted to go for the finish, but with a great wrestler like him, it’s hard to get a finish. But I’m just glad that I was able to represent my country on the biggest platform. It was just excitement (to walk out with the Myanmar flag). I was just very, very excited to represent my country. The whole week, I was just smiling and laughing. The weight cut was easy, camp was easy, so I was just happy and excited.”
Joshua Van, UFC 313 walkout (via Getty Images)
Van on Tsuruya’s 21 takedown attempts
“The thing is, if you didn’t do that, he knew he was going to get knocked out. I touched him a couple of times and he didn’t like my power. I was going for the kill this fight, so I think he was smart to shoot over and over.”
Mar 8, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Joshua Van (red gloves) fights Rei Tsuruya (blue gloves) during UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Van on what he wants next
“(I’d be ready to fight) next week. You know how the ranking (system) is bullsh*t, so I don’t know who to call out. But hopefully they give me a better opponent.”
To hear more from Van, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
