The gruesome injury dividing the UFC and sparking an uncomfortable question

An ecstatic Joshua Van scaled the Octagon wall in a mad scramble. Although an athlete with impeccable control over his body, here he was a young man incapable of suppressing the grin that was stretching his fresh face. At only 24 years old, he had just become the youngest active champion in the UFC – the second-youngest in history, in fact, a matter of months behind the ‘great’ Jon Jones. Furthermore, he had accomplished this feat by dethroning Alexandre Pantoja, one of the most-dominant title holders in recent memory. And in barely 30 seconds, no less!

So, why did the MMA fanbase take such issue with his jubilation, his exuberance in this life-changing moment? It was because Van hadn't actually beaten Pantoja, people said. Just 26 seconds into their showdown in Las Vegas, in the co-main event of UFC 323, flyweight king Pantoja had suffered a ‘freak’ injury, leaving him clutching his arm while laying on the canvas and wagging his finger at Van – standing above the Brazilian – as referee Herb Dean waved off the fight.

Indeed, the finger-wag did seem to be aimed at Van, who withheld himself from throwing any strikes on the downed Pantoja, as opposed to being aimed at the official. This appeared to be no appeal for Dean to let him go out on his shield, but rather a request to be left alone by his opponent.

And after being escorted out of the cage, Pantoja was immediately treated, with backstage reporter Megan Olivi saying on the broadcast: “I spoke to the UFC’s chief medical physician, Dr Jeff Davidson. He told me Pantoja had a left-shoulder dislocation with spontaneous reduction. What that essentially means is his shoulder was dislocated, but went back into place on its own. On Monday in Florida, he will go for additional imaging to see the extent of the damage – or if there is other damage that has been incurred – and then he will meet with an orthopaedic doctor as well.”

UFC commentator Joe Rogan reacted with confusion to the shoulder-related diagnosis. “It doesn’t even make sense," he said. “You saw his elbow literally leave the joint.” And yes, a gruesome, slow-motion replay of Pantoja’s injury had seemingly shown his elbow compress and shudder awkwardly, not his shoulder.

But we are not the medical experts, which is seemingly forgotten in situations like these.

It was similar in October, when British champion Tom Aspinall was poked repeatedly in the eyes by Ciryl Gane. When a final, double eye poke ended the action, Aspinall was accused of favouring the eye in which one of Gane’s fingers did not go knuckle deep. ‘Surely he should have been clutching the eye that was only poked by half-a-finger, not a full one?’ was a strangely-common and nonsensical sentiment from suspicious fans. In fact, both of Aspinall’s eyes continue to be affected, almost two months on, and the heavyweight champion may require surgery.

What has not been similar in the fallout from UFC 323 is this: Pantoja has not been accused of quitting, whereas many viewers levied that accusation against Aspinall. Why?

And to be clear, Pantoja should not be accused of quitting. He had every right to accept that he was debilitated and simply prioritise getting treatment, instead of a few unnecessary punches in the head. Similarly, Aspinall should not have been accused of quitting. He had every right to fear for his vision and wish to get to the nearest hospital ASAP.

But we are not just here to discuss what it means to quit; we are here to discuss what it means to win.

As noted earlier in this article, many fans subscribe to the notion that Van should not have celebrated because he did not ‘beat’ Pantoja. But he did win.

MMA is as physical and dangerous a sport as there is. When Van caught a head-kick attempt from Pantoja and shoved the 35-year-old to the canvas, he was showing sharp defence after surviving a few early, chaotic exchanges – the type that Pantoja loves so much.

Was Van trying to injure Pantoja’s arm? No. Can he take credit for hurting Pantoja enough that the latter could not continue? Yes.

It was similar in 2022, when Yair Rodriguez first fought Brian Ortega. The highly anticipated clash ended prematurely when Ortega dislocated his shoulder. Yet he did so under duress from Rodriguez, who was trying to trap Ortega’s arm for an armbar or triangle choke.

Was it as definitive an ending as fans wanted? Of course not. Was it a fair way for Rodriguez to win, in a sport as frantic and perilous as MMA? Yes.

It is okay to feel that Pantoja is still the true men’s flyweight champion in the UFC. It is okay to feel that, until Van defends the title against Pantoja or another contender, the Myanmar native is not the true champion. It is even okay to say you would have taken Van aside and whispered in his ear: “Mate, congrats, but maybe just dial down the celebrations a little.” But Van was running on adrenaline and had just changed his life.

After picking up a win in June, he bought his mother a house. “When my dad passed away [in 2017], I became the man of the house,” Van said this summer. “I’m the only son in the family, and I’m seeing my mum struggling. She’d give me her credit card so I could do whatever I wanted. It’s only right for me to give back. I’d always look at beautiful houses and turn to my friends and say: ‘One day, I’m buying that for my mum.’”

Van – who did check on the injured Pantoja, it should be said – is a young man with good intentions and great fighting abilities. He no doubt trained hard for the biggest fight of his life. Maybe we should let him enjoy his moment.