UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van sent a message to Tatsuro Taira following their war in the co-main event of UFC 328.
Van finished Taira in the fifth round via TKO in a back-and-forth fight that brought fans inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, to their feet as the two flyweights put on a show. Although Taira certainly had his moments in the bout — it was tied up 2-2 after four rounds — it was Van who got his hand raised when he dropped Taira in the fifth round and forced referee Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro to stop the contest.
For their efforts in the bout, both Van and Taira were awarded $100,000 Fight of the Night bonuses each.
Joshua Van Sends Message to Tatsuro Taira
A few days after the fight, Van took to social media to send a message of support to his rival Taira, offering respect for the man he had just shared the Octagon cage with.
“Nun but respect to Tatsuro n his team !! You a dawg !,” Van wrote on X.
Both Van and Taira are two of the youngest and most talented flyweights in the UFC, so a rematch down the road is very possible. Van is only 24 years old, and Taira is only 26, so they are both on the right side of 30 years old. Van is, of course, the champion and will continue to fight the next title challengers who are waiting in the wings for him, but Taira is not far away from getting another title shot at 125 lbs. If he picks up one or two more key wins at 125 lbs, Taira will be right there regarding getting back into the title picture in the UFC flyweight division. So, a rematch with Van is not that far away despite the result of this fight not going in Taira’s direction at UFC 328.
Joshua Van Figures to Fight Alexandre Pantoja Next
For his next title defense, Van likely will be taking on former UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, who was cageside watching the bout live in person at UFC 328. Van beat Pantoja last year at UFC 323 to claim the flyweight title with a first-round TKO, but it was an injury stoppage, and many fans and media believe it wasn’t a true victory. While Van did prove without a shadow of a doubt that he’s the best flyweight in the sport when he beat Taira by knockout, the fight with Pantoja still needs to be run back since we didn’t get closure to it the first time around.
As for when Van vs. Pantoja 2 could happen, the champ will likely need a few months away to heal up after he admitted that he was dealing with a knee injury before the fight. So it’s possible that these two could run it back in a rematch sometime in the fall, assuming they are both healthy. It’s a rematch that we need to see happen next, and for Taira, if he keeps winning, his own rematch down the road isn’t that far away.
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