Asia Represent: Myanmar’s Joshua Van wins; Fil-Am Punahele Soriano returns to UFC action

MANILA, Philippines – In a sport dominated by Americans, Brazilians, Russians, Britons and Mexicans, Asia found some representation this past UFC 295 when Myanmar’s Joshua Van went 2-0 in the promotion after taking a unanimous decision over Peruvian Kevin Borjas.

Van actually rebounded from getting decked in the first round by Borjas, who was making his UFC debut after coming off Dana White’s Contender Series.

Borjas deftly dropped Van with a right then followed it up with two more jabs. The Burmese fighter was in trouble but survived the round.

The second round saw the tide turn as Van not only recovered but went on the offensive. He began to land some huge body shots that would later take a toll on the Peruvian. 

The third round saw Van land a barrage of shots. Although he wobbled Borjas, he was unable to knock him out. He settled for a 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 win from all three judges.

The win was Van’s second consecutive in the UFC and gave him an overall 9-1-0 record. Borjas dropped to 9-2-0.

Asia’s other representative, South Korean Kang Kyung-ho, saw him lose a decision to John Castañeda (21-6-0). Kang fell to 19-10-0, including one no contest.  

It was a disappointing loss for the Korean, who saw his two-fight win streak snapped. In his first decade with the UFC, Kang is 8-3-0 with a no contest in his debut back in march of 2013.

Filipino-American Punahele Soriano returns to action in the UFC this coming December 3 when he battles Dustin Stoltzfus in a middleweight bout. Soriano is 4-3 in the UFC.

Soriano, who will be fighting in UFC Fight Night Dariush vs Tsarukyan, will be seen by Filipino audiences on the Premier Sports Channel on Skycable and Cignal as well as on the Blast TV streaming application.