Joshua Van did not appear at the joint press conference for UFC 335 and UFC 336, and Kape took his belt during the event. Kape directed jokes at Dana White over the absence, asking where his "son" was and quipping that White had forgotten to give the school bus the address.
Flyweight champion Joshua Van was absent from the joint press conference for UFC 335 and UFC 336, and Kape used the moment to take the champion's belt and turn the empty seat into a punchline aimed at Dana White.
Kape, according to the report, asked where White's "son" was and joked that the UFC president had forgotten to give the school bus the address. The gag leaned on Van's age. The champion is 25, though he is one of the youngest titleholders in the sport and has been cast as the kid of the division. No reason for his absence has been given.
Van, who fights out of 4oz. Fight Club and represents Myanmar, holds a 18-2-0 record and the flyweight title. At five-foot-five with a 65-inch reach, he is a compact orthodox striker whose numbers back up the nickname "The Fearless": 8.26 significant strikes landed per minute at 57 percent accuracy. His grappling output is modest by comparison, at 0.7 takedowns and 0.3 submission attempts per 15 minutes.
His recent form is the reason a missed press conference carries weight. In his most recent recorded fight, at UFC 331 on September 19, he beat Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision in a five-round title fight. That followed a fifth-round KO/TKO of Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328 on May 9 and a first-round KO/TKO of Pantoja at UFC 323 on December 6, 2025. That is three straight wins in title fights, two of them by stoppage.
The press conference covered both UFC 335, scheduled for December 12, and UFC 336, so Van's empty chair was noticeable for two cards at once.
Why it matters
- Van has won three consecutive title fights, including two over Pantoja, so any friction with the promotion draws attention at the top of the flyweight division.
- The belt stunt gives Kape a visible platform at a joint event, whatever his own plans in the division.
- The jibe at White points to a public storyline about the champion's relationship with the UFC, though nothing in the report suggests a formal dispute.
The report does not say whether Van's absence was planned, excused or a conflict, and no response from the champion or the UFC was included.
Saturday, December 12, 2026
