UFC cutman Brad Tate has recounted a memorable first encounter with Joshua Van, the current UFC flyweight champion.
Van recently successfully defended his title for the first time with a fifth-round TKO victory over Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328. He is anticipated to face Alexandre Pantoja in a rematch next.
In a recent interview, Brad Tate revealed that he met Joshua Van in an elevator shortly before Van’s inaugural UFC fight in 2023 against Zhalgas Zhumagulov, which Van won by split decision.
According to Tate, Van, who made his UFC debut in 2023, was extremely stressed and doubted his place in the organization. Tate explained that he and others had to provide encouragement to Van before his octagon appearance.
“So I met this guy in the elevator,” Tate shared. “It was a short-notice fight. He was incredibly nervous. He kept saying, ‘Man, I don’t know if I belong here.’ We had to talk to him and hype him up. Then he showed up at the arena for the first fight of the night. Nobody was even there yet. The dude was nervous as hell. I told him, ‘Bro, calm down. You got this. Flip that switch, you know?’ He said, ‘I don’t believe I should be here.’ His hands were literally shaking, and he was sweating profusely. Then they went out for the first fight, and the guy he was facing wasn’t feeling well.”
English Translation:
UFC cutman Brad Tate has shared an interesting story about his first meeting with Joshua Van.
Van, the current UFC flyweight champion, most recently secured the first defense of his title with a fifth-round TKO victory this past weekend over Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328.
He is expected to face the legendary Alexandre Pantoja in a rematch next.
Brad Tate reveals how nervous Joshua Van was before his UFC debut in 2023
During an interview, UFC cutman Brad Tate told viewers that he met Joshua Van in the elevator before the latter’s first UFC fight. Van made his UFC debut in 2023 against Zhalgas Zhumagulov and won by split decision.
According to Tate, Van was not always as calm and composed as he is now before his fights. When “The Fearless” entered the UFC, he was extremely stressed before his first outing and had to be hyped up by his peers before entering the octagon for his debut. Tate said:
“So I met this guy in the elevator. Short-notice fight. He was nervous as hell. He kept saying, ‘Man, I don’t know if I belong here.’ We had to talk to him and hype him up. Then he shows up at the arena for the first fight of the night. Nobody was even there yet. The dude was nervous as hell. I told him, ‘Bro, calm down. You got this. Flip that switch, you know?’ ‘I don’t believe I should be here.’ His hands were literally shaking, and he was sweating like crazy. Then they go out there for the first fight, and the dude he was facing wasn’t feeling well.”
