UFC 316 video: Joshua Van drops Bruno Silva multiple times before scoring blistering knockout
Joshua Van continued his climb up the flyweight ranks with a blistering performance to stop Bruno Silva in the featured prelims at UFC 316.
Following multiple knockdowns during the first two rounds, Van saw an opening late in the third where he unloaded a barrage of strikes capped off a nasty right hand that dropped Silva to the canvas. Van just unloaded shots in succession until referee Vitor Ribeiro saw enough to stop the contest with the end coming at 4:01 in the third round.
“I keep telling you guys I’m going to get better and this is what we’re talking about,” Van said after his latest win. “Try to take my time in it, not chasing the guys too much and the knockout will come.”
Throwing with blistering power behind every shot, Van was stabbing at Silva with some nasty combinations as soon as the action got started. In return, Silva used leg kicks to try and slow down Van while dealing with a much faster opponent on the feet.
A stiff combination of punches from Van ended up dropping Silva to the canvas midway through the first round but the Brazilian was able to weather the storm and get back to his feet.
As time passed into the second round, Silva was trying to mix up his attacks better to keep Van guessing but the 23-year-old flyweight was quick to pick up on his tendencies to set up his counters. While a jab from Silva started to connect, Van fired back with quick, powerful shots in succession.
Van delivered another knockdown with a lightning quick combination that put Silva on the canvas as he shifted into survival mode while eating a barrage of punches on the ground. Just moments after Silva worked his way back to the feet, Van put him down again as he continued to inflict maximum damage with every opportunity.
Despite multiple knockdowns, Silva kept coming back for more and he wasn’t backing down from the challenge but Van always appeared that he was just seconds away from delivering the finishing blow.
That happened after Van connected with another series of punches with the right hand that put Silva down for the final time. Once Silva hit the canvas with his back against the cage, Van just continued unleashing punches until the fight was over.
With four wins in a row capped off by this latest performance, Van appears ready for even stiffer competition and he could be a serious threat to anybody and everybody in the flyweight division.