When Denys Bondar dropped off of the first card of the year, the UFC called Felipe Bunes and his management team with the name Joshua Van. Not only was the Brazilian happy to stay on the card, but was glad to get a chance to throw down with someone he already feels connected to.
“He’s a very opportunistic guy. He’s always ready. He was going to fight on the Contender Series, but signed with the UFC to replace me against Zhalgas [Zhumagulov],” Bunes said through an interpretor. “It seems like this was meant to be.”
When watching the style of Van, Bunes enjoyed what he saw. On one hand, he bring a fight at all times and is exciting to watch. On the other hand, he saw enough issues with his game that he felt like he could exploit.
“He likes to move forward and pressure. He seems strong and aggressive,” he said. “But I see a lot of flaws in his game, especially in his grappling. He doesn’t seem to have much of a grappling game.”
But even though he sees weaknesses on the ground, and he himself is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, that doesn’t mean that he sees the finish coming with a submission. In fact, Bunes sees his UFC debut going a bit differently and didn’t hesitate to share the big prediction.
“I see myself finishing him by either KO or submission,” Bunes states. “But judging by the way that he fought his last fight – I see myself catching him with a knee.”
Bunes will look to bring that prediction to fruition when he steps into the cage this weekend at UFC Vegas 84. His fight with Joshua Van will take place on the preliminary portion of the card, which starts at 4pm EST on ESPN+.
