Charles Johnson had some tough moments early but he delivered an emphatic finish late with a stunning third-round knockout over highly touted flyweight prospect Joshua Van at UFC Denver.
While the first two rounds were competitive, Johnson didn’t want to leave anything to chance and he came out looking for the finish as soon as the action got started. He ended up clipping Van with a punch that landed just behind the ear and then he uncorked a long-range uppercut that connected clean.
Van’s head snapped back in violent fashion before he crashed down to the canvas with the referee rushing in to stop the action before he suffered any further damage. The end came just 20 seconds into the third and final round with Johnson getting the knockout win.
“I got this fight 11 days ago,” Johnson said afterward. “I went up to 9,300 feet, ran hills for three or four days. The third round hit, nobody’s touching me. I felt I him with that right hook and the next thing is to come up under.”
While Johnson definitely had his moments, Van was landing the better strikes through the first two rounds as he continued to connect with both power and accuracy. Van was measuring his shots but still getting into some wild exchanges with Johnson on the feet.
Van’s striking looked crisp all night long but it was a lapse in defense that cost him on Saturday night.
With Johnson coming out aggressive, the St. Louis native wanted to leave nothing to chance on the scorecards so he was launching bombs as soon as he got released from his corner in the third round. Johnson came after Van with everything in his arsenal and that’s when he threw a perfectly timed hook that connected behind the ear.
With Van wobbled from the punch, Johnson threw the uppercut from distance to put his opponent down and out for the final time.
It was an incredibly impressive finish, especially with all the attention Van has been receiving lately as one of the top up and comers at 125 pounds.
Johnson has now rattled off three wins in a row — all in 2024 — and it appears he might try to get at least one more before the year is over.
