Pay attention to Tatsuro Taira
Sitting quietly at 16-0 and at number five in the UFC’s flyweight rankings, Tatsuro Taira has a major opportunity to jump the line this weekend at UFC Vegas 98. The Japanese standout takes on top ranked Brandon Royval in the main event. With Taira possessing such a fantastic skill set and Royval being an all action fighter, a win could leapfrog Taira over Kai Kara-France to a flyweight title shot.
The coming of Tatsuro Taira
Throughout his career, Tatsuro Taira has been perfect. Since his arrival to the UFC, he’s been just that. A perfect six wins with four finishes. A grappler first, Taira has scored a knockout and looks to make himself undeniable with a win.
His performances have been great: a second round armbar over CJ Vergara and a first round armbar in his next bout against Jesus Aguilar. In 2023, the 24 year old notched his fifth knockout of his career over Carlos Hernandez.
A couple of cancelled bookings in 2024 got Taira’s 2024 off to a rough start. Those two, tangentially, would have been fantastic fights. Tim Elliott, who is always funky, and the immensely talented Joshua Van, were the two we missed out on.
But the rise of Alex Perez facilitated the capture of Tatsuro Taira’s current ranking. Perez, as injury prone as he is, defeated Matheus Nicolau and seized the spot for himself. Taira fought Perez this June and after a scrambly first round, Perez hurt himself and Taira was handed the win.
The task ahead
Tatsuro Taira has a tall order before him this weekend. Flying from Japan to Las Vegas, he will take on the division’s highest output fighter: Brandon Royval.
Royval has come up short against Alexandre Pantoja, the champion, twice, his last being a relatively close decision loss. In his last fight, he put out an unmatchable pace against fan favorite and former champion Brandon Moreno. The split decision win boosted him to the top ranking in the UFC’s flyweight rankings.
Make no mistake about: Brandon Royval is a nightmare matchup for Tatsuro Taira. He can scramble like a mad man, he puts on an insanely torrid pace, and his volume is absolutely absurd.
That’s what makes this fight so interesting. Can the divisional newcomer, Tatsuro Taira, deal with this type of onslaught at only 24 years of age?
Answering the question
This weekend, Tatsuro Taira is daring to be great. He is insanely young for a fighter. In MMA we usually see fighters peak at 26-30 years of age. With his early start, a shot at the number one contender spot would be immense and a step towards a legacy that is well worth remembering.
Should Taira leapfrog Kara-France, he would crack the division wide open. Having not fought most of the contenders in the division, a win over Pantoja would open up options for Taira to fight Kara-France, Brandon Moreno, Amir Albazi and more.
But first, he has Brandon Royval. It’s the step towards a kind of greatness that endures. He must beat Brandon Royval. He must not get ahead of himself. Should he win, the task would then turn to Alexandre Pantoja. And then, and then, and then…
