The lone newcomer on the UFC 295 card at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday was Kevin Borjas, paired up in a flyweight match-up with Joshua Van.
Contender Series alum Borjas was riding a four-fight win streak, while Van was entering off a win in his own promotional debut.
The fight started with a feeling out process between both fighters. Van was working the jab early going up high and to the body. Borjas was throwing leg kicks, but Van was mixing up his attack more. Van started to land kicks to the lead leg that were impactful. Borjas threw a left hand off a switch kick and then a right hand. A wheel kick was thrown but a right from Borjas dropped Van. Two snipping jabs landed from Borjas snapping the head back of Van. A strong second half of the round for Borjas.
In round two Van was pressing but Borjas was still throwing with serious heat. Borjas landed a nice one-two but Van was still going forward. Van did land a right hand that got the attention of Borjas. Joshua Van was very aggressive throwing a lot of volume mixing up his combinations going to the body. The bodywork seemed to really take a toll on Borjas. Van kept ripping the body and going up top and Borjas was in retreat. Van never let up on the gas in round two and came forward the entire round.
Going into the final round, it was likely 1-1. Van was pumping out the jab to start the round. Constant pressure came from Van, who was throwing volume but ended up getting a takedown. It wasn’t long as Borjas scrambled back up to his feet. More forward pressure from Van as he was crowding Borjas with a barrage of output. Van was consistently digging to the body throughout the final round. Borjas tried a takedown of his own but it wasn’t close. Soon after he ate a nice body-head combo.
Van landed a right hand over the top that landed but Borjas had shown a lot of toughness. Out of nowhere, Borjas did stun Van with a right hand. He then landed a follow-up knee but it allowed Van to take the back and get the takedown. Van attempted a scarfhold armlock but Borjas escaped and took the back. Van quickly shook him off and ended the fight on top. Come the scorecards, it was Van claiming the unanimous decision win.
Official Result: Josh Van def. Kevin Borjas by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
