LOS ANGELES – The old adage "respect your elders" apparently doesn't resonate with UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van.
Earlier Wednesday at UFC 331 media day, Alexandre Pantoja spoke of wanting to put Van in his place when he got mouthy during last month's UFC 331 press conference in Philadelphia.
"I'm from the '90s," 36-year-old Pantoja said. "In that time, if you don't respect your mother and your father, they're gonna slap you. I thought about that, but Dana White stopped me."
When those words were brought to his attention during his own UFC 331 session with reporters, Van, 24, didn't hold back in trashing Pantoja.
"As far as I check, I'm his dad," Van said. "I don't know what he was talking about. You know the sh*t that he be saying? He should
get smacked for that. He was being respectful after the fight, but I don't know where he's doing interviews and things like that, making me the bad guy. I told him we're going to fight again. I don't know what his deal was, but I was just annoyed."
He continued, "He's trying to be this guy where he's the good guy, right? Trying to make me the bad guy. I don't mind it. … It's funny to me. We're going to fight Saturday and find out who's the better man."
To many, that still could be up for debate given their first fight last December at UFC 323 had an unsatisfying ending. Van claimed the 125-pound title after Pantoja suffered a gruesome arm injury just 26 seconds into the bout. They'll meet again Saturday in the UFC 331 (Paramount+) headliner at Crypto.com Arena.
Van went on to defend his crown in May with a hard-fought win over Tatsuro Taira. Heading into the rematch with Pantoja, the champ vows to leave no doubt.
"There's no 'if,'" Van said. "When I beat him, I will be one of the greats in this division, and then the next contender is going to try to come and take the belt off me. ...
"Every guy that (Pantoja) fought, they showed him too much respect. This is the first time someone ever talked back to him or point out what he's been saying is wrong. He's not used to it. I think he's putting pressure on himself for sure."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Joshua Van shows Alexandre Pantoja no respect before UFC 331: 'I'm his dad'
