Japan is nearly within grasp of its first UFC championship.
Rapidly rising flyweight contender Tatsuro Taira will fight Brandon Royval at UFC Fight Night (UFC Vegas 98) on October 12th, per Real Kevin K on Twitter/X. The fight takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, and will serve a five-round main event.
After a slow build through the field of the UFC's unranked flyweights, all of the sudden, Taira finds himself near the top of the division. His first UFC main event came last June against Alex Perez, where he won off of an injury to Perez in the second round. He's yet to lose in the UFC through six fights, and is 16-0 overall.
Brandon Royval, conversely, as fought as a top contender at flyweight for years. He's already had one crack at the flyweight championship, dropping a unanimous decision to champion Alexandre Pantoja last December. Since then, he's beaten former champion Brandon Moreno by decision on Moreno's home turf of Mexico last February.
At just twenty-four years old, Tatsuro Taira is closing in on a UFC title shot, should he get past Royval. While no such opportunity has been promised by the UFC, a win puts him squarely in the top spot in the division outside the champion. No Japanese fighter has won a UFC championship, although a handful have tried- Yushin Okami was the most recent in August of 2011.
Also on the UFC Vegas 98 card is Cory McKenna vs. Polyana Viana, Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia, and Cody Garbrandt vs. Miles Johns.
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