Van recently revealed that he flipped the tape Dustin Poirier to pick up techniques. He explains that he used to reverse the shot because he is Orthodox and Poirier is southpaw. Van examines tape of other elite fighters Ilia Topuriawho has a similar boxing-based style to him. However, Van’s favorite fighter to learn is the Companion
Ultimate Fighting Championship title holder Peter Yan.
Joshua Van explains how Dustin Poirier, Petr Yan and Ilia Topuria influence his stroke
Van defended his title for the second time at UFC 331causing to defeat his famous boxing Alexandre Pantoja in their rematch. “Fearless” revealed in a recent interview that he is actively studying Yan’s hands and adding what he can to his arsenal.
“He has my fighting style,” Van Ariel told Helwan. “He’s a boxing-based fighter, kind of like Petr Yan, Ilia. I like to study one of the greats and just put it into my game…Petr Yan is really who I really look up to.”
Van has become a fan favorite due to his fighting style. His next challenger has yet to be announced Manel Cape
being the front runner. Meanwhile, Yan plans to defend his title in a trilogy match against Merab Dvalishvili at
UFC 333.
Joshua Van
explains why he flipped the footage Dustin Poirier explore his striking:“He has my fighting style. He’s a boxing-based fighter, sort of Peter YanIlia.
I like to study something great and just put it into my game.
Peter Yan is really who i… pic.twitter.com/i3D5dST7M5
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
September 22, 2026