Tatsuro Taira fills UFC 302 opening, fights Joshua Van

Two of the UFC’s most promising flyweights, Tatsuro Taira and Joshua Van will collide in Newark.

Two of the UFC flyweight division’s most promising rising fighters will collide this June.

With [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag] out of UFC 302, [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] has signed on to fight [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag] at the June 1 event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The matchup was announced Thursday by Iridium Sports Agency, which manages both fighters.

Taira (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has passed each test he’s had in the promotion with flying colors. With three finishes in five promotional appearances, Japan’s Taira rides high off a TKO victory over Carlos Hernandez in December.

Van (10-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) went 3-0 in his first seven months with the UFC as he accumulated wins over Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Kevin Borjas, and Felipe Bunes. He was scheduled to fight Lucas Rocha in April, but was removed from the card when his opponent withdrew.

With the addition, the UFC 302 lineup includes:

  • Champion Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier – for lightweight title
  • Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa – five-round co-main event
  • Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez
  • Su Mudaerji vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov
  • Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez
  • Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
  • Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
  • Jake Matthews vs. Phil Rowe
  • Andre Lima vs. Hyun Sung Park
  • Niko Price vs. Jeremiah Wells
  • Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov

Unbeaten Tatsuro Taira draws Tim Elliott at UFC Fight Night on May 18

Tatsuro Taira will look to climb the flyweight rankings when he takes on a savvy veteran.

[autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] will look to climb the flyweight rankings when he takes on a savvy veteran.

Taira (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag] (20-13-1 MMA, 9-11 UFC) at the UFC’s May 18 Fight Night event, which does not have a publicly announced venue or location. Both fighters confirmed the news on social media after an initial report from Eurosport NL.

Japan’s Taira continued his finishing ways when he took out Carlos Hernandez by second-round TKO this past December at UFC Fight Night 233. The undefeated 24-year-old has finished most of his wins by submission.

Former title challenger Elliott has won three of his past four. He also most recently competed at UFC Fight Night 233, when he stepped in on five days’ notice to submit Su Mudaerji in a Performance of the Night effort.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for May 18 includes:

  • Angela Hill vs. Luana Pinheiro
  • Hailey Cowan vs. Tamires Vidal
  • Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Emily Ducote
  • Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Themba Gorimbo
  • Victor Martinez vs. Tom Nolan
  • Warlley Alves vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
  • Tim Elliott vs. Tatsuro Taira

UFC in 2023: A ridiculously robust look at the stats, streaks, skids and record-setters

Check out a full recap of 2023’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2023’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

UFC Fight Night 233 winner Tatsuro Taira surprised by first octagon KO, eyes Muhammad Mokaev next

Tatsuro Taira explains why he called out Muhammad Mokaev at UFC Fight Night 233.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] spoke to the media after UFC Fight Night 233 at Saturday’s post-fight news conference.

Taira (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) answered questions from MMA Junkie and other media members after his second-round TKO of Carlos Hernandez. Japan’s Taira discussed being surprised by his first UFC knockout, his callout of [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag], and being open to David Dvorak.

UFC Fight Night 233 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streamed on ESPN+.

Watch the video of Taira’s complete post-fight media availability above.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=420030788]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub forΒ UFC Fight Night 233.

4 biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 233: The fallout of Khalil Rountree punishing Anthony Smith

Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 233, including the fallout of Khalil Rountree battering Anthony Smith.

What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 233 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …

* * * *

UFC Fight Night 233 post-event facts: Khalil Rountree inches closer to Chuck Liddell’s KO record

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 233, which saw Khalil Rountree move closer to Chuck Liddell’s longstanding knockout record.

There’s just one event left on the UFC’s 2023 schedule after UFC Fight Night 233 came to a conclusion on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

An underwhelming lineup fell in the shadow of UFC 296 this weekend, and the main event wasn’t particularly memorable as [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) proved to be too much for [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] (20-6-2 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) in their bantamweight matchup en route to a unanimous decision win.

For more on the numbers to come out of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts about UFC Fight Night 233.

* * * *

UFC Fight Night 233 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $22 million

UFC Fight Night 233 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $159,500

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 233 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 233 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Muniz[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Junyong Park[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Kevin Jousset[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Song Kenan[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]HyunSung Park[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shannon Ross[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Steve Garcia[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Melquizael Costa[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Luana Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Stephanie Egger[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Carlos Hernandez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Talita Alencar[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Rayanne Amanda[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2331 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $7,848,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,367,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC Fight Night 233 in Las Vegas with Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 233 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streamed on ESPN+.

In the main event, Song Yadong (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) took on Chris Gutierrez (20-5-2 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) in a bantamweight clash. In the light heavyweight co-feature, former title challenger Anthony Smith (37-19 MMA, 12-9 UFC) met Khalil Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC).

You also can get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporter Ken Hathaway (@1khathaway)Β on X.

Check out the full event play-by-play, results, and more below.

UFC Fight Night 233 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC Fight Night 233 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 233 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex inΒ Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 233 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 video: Tatsuro Taira scores first octagon TKO, calls out Muhammad Mokaev

23-year-old Tatsuro Taira showed he’s also dangerous on the feet with his first octagon knockout at UFC Fight Night 233.

[autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] once again showed why he’s arguably the most intriguing flyweight prospect in MMA by extending his unbeaten record at UFC Fight Night 233.

Japan’s Taira (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) displayed his superior ground game once again Saturday when he overwhelmed [autotag]Carlos Hernandez[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) on the mat before going to the hands to finish the job by second-round TKO at the UFC Apex.

Hernandez survived a swarm from Taira’s grappling in Round 1, which opened up a huge right hand on the feet followed by ground-and-pound to finish the job at the 0:55 mark of Round 2.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via X):

After recording his fifth straight win to begin his UFC tenure, including four in a row at flyweight, Taira called for a step up at 125 pounds against Muhammad Mokaev, who is currently scheduled to face Alex Perez at UFC Saudi Arabia on March 2.

“I was trying to show some jiu-jitsu skills, but whatever, I’m happy (with the TKO,” Taira told Paul Felder through an interpreter during his post-fight interview. “Where’s Mokaev?”

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 233 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.