Joshua Van continues to make noise and surge up the flyweight rankings, defeating Bruno Silva in a clinic that capped off the UFC 316 preliminary card.
Van’s crisp striking was on display from the opening frame, overcoming Silva’s leg-kick-based attack by trying to keep distance and using a variety of punches, including a left hook that dropped Silva late in the round.
Van came out in the second round looking to dictate the pace again, controlling the action with more distance work and use of his jab. Van scored another knockdown in this round with a right hand. Though Silva scored a takedown during the second round, Van got around it and managed to trouble Silva some more with a hook and ground-and-pound before the end of the round.
Van continued to overwhelm with accurate and powerful striking in the third round. Van dropped Silva with a right hook and some more ground-and-pound put Silva away about four minutes into the final frame.
Joshua Van Puts Beating On Bruno Gustavo Da Silva At UFC 316
Van, who improves to 14-2, has now won four straight and 11 of his last 12. This marked his fifth fight in an 11-month span; that span also included a loss to Charles Johnson and wins over Edgar Chairez, Cody Durden and Rei Tsuruya.
Silva has now lost two straight after a four-fight win streak. He came into this fight off a loss to Manel Kape in December.
