Charles Johnson Weighs in on Third Round Comeback Win Over Joshua Van

Charles Johnson claims he had a lot more than five minutes left in him when he turned the switch for a third-round comeback win over Joshua Van at UFC Denver.

Johnson took on Van in the featured preliminary bout at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver on Saturday. The visuals weren’t looking good for Johnson early on in fight that was otherwise even on the judges’ scorecards. However, “InnerG” came out with guns blazing in the final round, knocking Van out just twenty seconds into the period to score a come-from-behind win.

While Johnson believes he was never quite out of the fight, he credits his coach for flipping a switch in his mind going into the third frame. When Justin Hardy asked him to go all in for five minutes, the former Legacy Fighting Alliance flyweight champ knew he was capable of that and more. Johnson also hailed himself as the best five-round flyweight fighter in the world, though he hasn’t had the chance to show it yet.

“I was never groggy. I was never out of it, I was just flowing,” Johnson told reporters during a post-fight media scrum . “But it’s time to hit a switch, third round… Coach said, ‘It’s time. It’s five minutes of work. Give me five great minutes.’ Five minutes, that ain’t s—t. I ran cross country in college, bro. I ran 12 miles a day in college, five minutes ain’t s—t but a shake out. That ain’t even a shake out, that ain’t event a warmup for me. ‘Five minutes? I got five minutes in me coach,’ that’s the feeling. I’m the best five-round flyweight in the world. They haven’t seen it because I’m in this three-round format.”

Johnson’s knockout win over Van marked his third straight triumph within a span of six months, which saw him rebound from a three-fight slump. Johnson hopes to be ranked among top 15 flyweights after extending his promotional record to 5-4.

“Hopefully, I should be ranked. That’s three wins in a row. [No.] 14- and 15 haven’t done nothing in this promotion for three fights in three years. Su Mudaerji hasn’t won since 2021 and [David] Dvorak is on a three-fight losing streak. Let’s get some guys that’s been working and fighting everyone like myself, like [Allan] Nascimento vs. [ Jafel Filho ] – they’re fighting. I think one of them will earn a spot, too. I think guys are earning their way up. Mick Maynard, man you got a lot of talent in this weight class, baby. This is the best weight class in the world. He’s doing a hell of a job trying to keep everything in order.”