“When Jason called me, I said, ‘I can’t say no,’” recalled Van, who cut his night short to prepare for UFC 306.

“I thought, I gotta go,” said Van, who wanted to take a little break after being stopped by Charles Johnson in July. It was only the second loss of Van’s career and the first in a UFC run that started with a three-fight win streak over Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Borjas and Felipe Bunes. But now it was time to get back to work.

“Short term is always tough, but we managed to get what I needed,” he said. “The work, when you push yourself that hard, your body kind of gets used to it. So the first two days were tough, but after that it was a normal day.”

UFC 306: Fight by fight preview | How to watch | Public events schedule

In other words, Van is ready to take on a Mexican fighter on the Riyad Season Noche UFC card on Mexican Independence Day. As for being the “bad guy” on Saturday night, Van doesn’t believe that will be the case.

“I’m Mexican myself,” laughs the Myanmar resident. “I came here when I was 12 and I’m about to turn 23, so I’ve been with Mexicans for almost half my life and they see me as Mexican too. So I don’t see myself as the bad guy.”

Well, Mexico may not be on Van’s birth certificate, but the Daniel Pineda-coached flyweight fighter has that Mexican fighting spirit in him, and he knows it.