Tatsuro Taira last competed 10 months ago in a Fight of the Year contender against Brandon Royval in the main event of UFC Vegas 98, and a lot has changed in his absence in the UFC’s flyweight division.
Taira returns this Saturday in the UFC Vegas 108 headliner against short-notice opponent Hyun Sung Park — who replaces Amir Albazi on less than a week’s notice.
Since Taira suffered his first pro MMA loss to Royval, the division has seen the rapid rise of Joshua Van, who battled his way to a likely title shot with five victories in less than a year. Watching Van’s emergence has fired up Taira to do the same.
“[The way Van has risen up the ranks] and got up to that title contention, very surprising,” Taira told MMA Fighting. “But a lot of inspiration I get from him, gives a lot of energy to me as well, So I’m excited to see how that fight goes [with Pantoja]”
Van defeated Royval at June’s UFC 317 event in one of the most thrilling fights of the year, and after Pantoja stopped Kai Kara-France later in the card, the two faced off to set up a future title fight.
Taira hopes to put himself in a position on Saturday against Song where he could await the winner of the next potential world title fight at 125 pounds.
“Obviously, experience [will play a factor], but also, simply, skill set wise, I just want to show where I am and where he is in terms of the experience and skill sets,” Taira said.
“Yes I’m ready to prove what kind of fighter I am, the strength I have with the win. And I’ll wait to see who wins between Pantoja and Van and hopefully I get the next shot.”
If all goes according to plan, who does Taira believe he would face in that championship bout: Pantoja or Van?
“Pantoja has proven a lot,” Taira said. “It’ll be a jiu-jitsu vs. boxing battle, for sure. I think Pantoja’s jiu-jitsu will win the fight.”
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