When Joshua Van set out on a journey for MMA greatness, one of the most important things he wanted to achieve was to put Myanmar on the map.
Now, in a sense, he’s done just that. While he’s long carried the Burmese flag in spirit, Van (12-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) will make the walk with his native flag – a first in UFC history. The promotion recently notified the rising UFC flyweight contender of the decision to allow the flag after it was not allowed for his first six appearances.
“The emailed me yesterday and I was full of joy,” Van told MMA Junkie on Friday. “I showed all my coaches and all my friends that I get to bring my flag. It was a very special day for me.”
Persistence paid off. Van isn’t totally sure why the flag was not allowed to begin with, but he’d steadily stayed on the organization, asking for permission – and at UFC 313 on March 8, the yellow, green, and red flag with a big white star in the middle will be draped over his shoulders at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“Ever since my first fight in the UFC, I bring my flag each fight week, asking them if I can bring it out and stuff like that,” Van said. “I think my first fight nobody was allowed to bring their flags. So that was understandable. Then my second fight and my third fight, I kept asking them. I think it was the commission or something, they didn’t know if Myanmar was a country or not. That’s what they told me. I was pulling out Googles and sh*t to show them that Myanmar is a country. The UFC team worked on getting my flag, especially after my last fight, the win, where I wore the mouth guard. That played a big part.”
Van, 23, moved from Myanmar to Texas when he was 12. His assimilation into American society wasn’t easy, but fighting helped him. While he’s all the way across the world from where he was born, Van has long been a proud representative of the small Southeast Asian country located by China, Laos, and Thailand.
Since 2021, Myanmar has been in amidst a civil war after a military coup. The tumultuous political climate has lead to both admiration and disapproval in Van’s social media DMs.
“A lot of people feel that flag don’t represent us, but at the end of the day, we are our own country and that is our flag,” Van said. “I’m just happy to represent our country. … Most people are happy for our country, but some people are going through it feel some type of way because of what we’re going through. But at the end of the day, it’s better people know about us.”
While Van’s day-to-day focus is preparing for upcoming foe Rei Tsuruya (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), eventually returning to Myanmar for the first time since he left is the ultimate dream.
“That’s the goal. That’s the dream,” Van said. “I want to go back and give back to my country.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.
