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UFC on ESPN 58 official weigh-ins and fighter faceoffs are in the books, and we have an exclusive photo gallery from the UFC Apex.
Check out these photos of the UFC on ESPN 58 official weigh-ins and faceoffs at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos by Ken Hathaway, MMA Junkie)
The circumstances around Timmy Cuamba’s octagon debut weren’t ideal, and he plans to show a truer version of himself at UFC on ESPN 58.
LAS VEGAS – The circumstances around [autotag]Timmy Cuamba[/autotag]’s octagon debut were far from ideal, and he plans to show a truer version of himself when he meets Lucas Almeida on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 58
“I’m going to show my full form because my UFC debut, I went up a weight, it was on four days’ notice following a fight seven days before,” Cuamba told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Thursday’s media day. “So this time you guys are going to see the real ‘Twilight Timmy.'”
Cuamba (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) takes on Almeida (14-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a featherweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN2, ESPN+). The American thinks he has a major stylistic edge over his Brazilian foe, and intends to prove it inside the octagon.
“I love the matchup – I know it favors me a lot, so I’m honestly really excited for it. I just know he’s an opponent that I’m going to get through, and that’s it.”
To hear more from Cuamba, check out his complete UFC on ESPN 58 media day interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.
Tatsuro Taira is younger and undefeated, but has he been tested by someone with Alex Perez’s veteran savvy?
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom goes in depth to break down the biggest fights in the UFC. Today, he takes a closer look at the UFC on ESPN 57 main event between former flyweight title challenger [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag] and [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag].
Staple info:
Supplemental info:
+ Tachi Palace flyweight title
+ Wrestling base
+ Multiple wrestling accolades
+ 6 KO victories
+ 7 submission wins
+ 11 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Improved striking ability
^ Combinations and bodywork
+ Hard calf kicks
+ Excellent wrestling ability
+ Solid transitional grappler
^ Dangerous from front-headlock
+/- 2-2 in the UFC Apex
Staple info:
Supplemental info:
+ Shooto flyweight title
+ Amateur MMA accolades
+ 4 knockout victories
+ 7 submission wins
+ 8 first-round finishes
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Steadily improving striking
^ Hard kicks from the left side
+ Serviceable takedown ability
^ Chains well against the fence
+ Excellent transitional grappler
^ Superb back-taker
+/- 4-0 in the UFC Apex
The main event in Las Vegas features an interesting pairing of flyweight talents who continue to progress in the striking realm.
Despite growing up as a wrestler, [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag] has developed more and more of a taste for the striking arts since stepping onto the MMA scene.
Initially implementing more of a wrestle-boxing style to start his career, Perez has steadily refined his approach after years spent working with Team Oyama and company. Applying better feints and footwork, Perez will typically prod with jabs off of a high guard as he looks to make his way inside.
Perez displays a decent ability to slip to the outside, usually looking to change levels off it by going to the body. This range of motion also lends itself to the left hooks and leg kicks that the 32-year-old contender has been punctuating his combinations with – skills that were on full display in his fight opposite Jussier Formiga.
Alex Perez TKOs Jussier Formiga in round 1: pic.twitter.com/8pz6qyVALd
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) April 25, 2024
Nevertheless, Perez will still need to respect continual striking improvements of [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag].
Fighting his frame and stylistic sensibilities, Taira will typically look to play all the way in or all the way out when it comes to his operating range.
At distance, Taira looks to set up long straight shots off his in-and-out movement. When feeling in stride, Taira will attach solid kicks to his combinations.
Although Taira’s switch kick from his left side could serve him well against a wrestle-boxer like Perez, the Japanese fighter will likely be looking to get to his A game given that he’s the less proven competitor in the pocket.
Considering the arguable crux of Taira’s game, winning the wrestling will be paramount for both fighters this weekend.
A talented back-taker who is steadily rounding out his surrounding skill set, Taira appears to have no illusions as to where his bread is buttered.
Not only is Taira patient when it comes to setting up his shots, but the Japanese fighter does not seem easily discouraged when failing on his first attempt.
Akin to great MMA grapplers like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Taira looks to be perfectly content with using his first shot to drive his opposition toward to octagon walls. From there, Taira will chain to and from single-legs to trip takedowns that allow him to drag the fight into his world.
Nevertheless, I’m not sure how much success Taira will have when it comes to dictating grappling exchanges with a wrestler like Perez.
Indoctrinated into wrestling from a young age, Perez followed the path of his brothers, Julian Perez and Silverio Esparza (who were also Lemoore High School wrestling champs), excelling as a two-time divisional champ who maintained a top-12 state ranking for his weight class. And by his sophomore year at West Hills College Lemoore, Perez received All-American honors before eventually crossing over into MMA.
Stumbling into his fair share of submission losses on a deceptively tough regional circuit, Perez’s transition into MMA certainly wasn’t an easy one. But since his time spent on the Tachi Palace scene, Perez has appeared to make some serious strides, displaying the ability to both finish and control fighters at a high level.
Whether Perez is chaining off of singles and doubles in the open or getting things done inside of the clinch, the former Selma High School wrestling coach can pretty much do it all. And when he’s able to establish his favored front-headlock position, Perez is quick to abuse a plethora of options that range from front-chokes to back-takes, often chaining them off of each other (as seen in his fight with Carls John de Thomas).
However, if Perez does find himself underneath Taira this Saturday, then he’ll need to be careful with the back exposure that his wrestling-style getups typically offer.
A sign you know Taira is a good grappler:
Takes the back and immediately uses his hook to turn Vergara so Taira's hook is on bottom
That stops Vergara from sliding out and Taira can lock the figure 4The trip was real nice too pic.twitter.com/5xpxad7l9q
— William – Open Note Grappling 📝 (@OpenNoteGrapple) June 13, 2024
Taira may still be developing large parts of his game, but the 24-year-old’s back-taking abilities are potent beyond his years. Whether Taira is looking for rear-naked chokes or baiting escapes that lead to armlocks, the native of Japan will be extremely dangerous anytime he attaches himself to Perez.
The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the undefeated fighter, listing Taira -205 and Perez +158 via FanDuel.
Despite my excitement for a new Japanese prospect with promise, I can’t say that I agree with the betting line listed above.
I get that Taira is undefeated and the younger party at play, but the 24-year-old has only been training martial arts for 9 years and is still largely unproven against top-level talent.
More importantly, I’m seeing way too many advantages for the underdog Perez from a stylistic perspective.
Not only does Perez have the wrestling ability to dictate grappling exchanges (as seen in a fight that he arguably won against another super prospect in Muhammad Mokaev), but the 32-year-old also has some crushing calf kicks that can potentially punish the stance of Taira considering the success past opponents have had on the Japanese fighter.
And though Taira is the more noted submission threat on paper, I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Perez catching him from the front-headlock position given that Taira will willingly put his neck in precarious positions in order to get his grappling going. For that reason, I can’t help but side with the American to deal out a classic “vet lesson” this Saturday.
The official pick is Perez to force a stoppage via strikes in round 2.
As the main event, Perez and Taira are expected to make their walks to the octagon at approximately 12:30 a.m. ET. The fight broadcasts live on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.
Check out the UFC on ESPN 58 weigh-in results from Las Vegas, featuring Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira.
LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday’s official UFC on ESPN 58 (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN+) fighter weigh-ins at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Among those weighing in were former title challenger Alex Perez (25-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and unbeaten Tatsuro Taira (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who meet in the flyweight main event, and Miles Johns (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Douglas Silva de Andrade (29-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC), who fight in the bantamweight co-feature.
Alex Perez = 126 pounds ✅
Tatsuro Taira = 126 pounds ✅Saturday's #UFCVegas93 main event is weighed in and official. pic.twitter.com/zZQm31Bicf
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) June 14, 2024
All four of the main and co-main event fighters were on point, but it was ranked flyweight Tagir Ulanbekov who was the lone blemish of the session. Ulanbekov was 3.5 pounds over the non-title divisional limit for his featured prelim matchup with Joshua Van. Subsequently, the fight was scrapped from the lineup.
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The full UFC on ESPN 58 weigh-in results include:
MAIN CARD (ESPN2/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2/ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
*Ulanbekov missed the flyweight limit by 3.5 pounds. The fight was canceled by the commission.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.
The main event for the UFC’s latest home show is official after the headliners made weight Friday.
LAS VEGAS – The main event for the UFC’s latest home show is official after the headliners made weight Friday.
Ahead of UFC on ESPN 58 (ESPN2/ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex, former flyweight title challenger [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag] (25-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and the unbeaten [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) stepped on the scale at the official weigh-ins, with both registering at 126 pounds.
Check out the video from their trips to the scale above.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.
Douglas Silva de Andrade intends to return from a 13-month layoff with force on Saturday when he meets Miles Johns at UFC on ESPN 58.
[autotag]Douglas Silva de Andrade[/autotag] intends to return from a 13-month layoff with force on Saturday when he meets Miles Johns at UFC on ESPN 58.
De Andrade (29-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) has been sidelined with injuries since a unanimous decision over Cody Stamann at UFC on ABC 4 in May 2023, but now the 38-year-old looks to achieve a fourth win in his past five fights against Johns in their bantamweight bout at the UFC Apex in las Vegas (ESPN2, ESPN+).
“I just want to put out a great performance, put on a strong performance out there,” de Andrade told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at Thursday’s media day. “Another battle – not leave anything to chance. Obviously leaving everything in the hands of God, but still, always looking for the win and the finish.”
To hear more from de Andrade, check out his complete UFC on ESPN 58 media day interview above.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.
Miles Johns knows his opponent at UFC on ESPN 58 has a stellar resume that can’t be overlooked.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag] met the media Thursday ahead of his fight at UFC on ESPN 58.
Johns (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) takes on Douglas Silva de Andrade (29-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) in a bantamweight fight on the ESPN main card at the UFC Apex. At the event’s media day, Johns took questions from media members before his fight.
And though he’s confident in what he can do against the Brazilian, Johns said there’s a reason he’s expecting a tough test against Silva de Andrade.
“Douglas is a very skilled opponent. He has a lot of heart. He has the warrior spirit. And the only people that have beat Douglas are top-tier guys,” Johns said. “And they’ve all said, ‘Man, that was a challenge.’ He’s going to go out there and he’s going to go out on his shield, no matter what.
“I do believe that if he’s throwing some naked kicks and he’s trying to throw his power, that I could time that – I could put his lights out. He gets hurt in a lot of his fights. But at the same time, I’m expecting to go through some adversity. I’m expecting him not to make this easy for me.”
Check out Johns’ full media day interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.
Watch Alex Perez put an end to his three-fight losing skid with his brutal KO over Matheus Nicolau back in April.
[autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag] reminded the world in his last outing that he’s still one of the world’s best at 125 pounds.
On a three-fight win streak and winless since 2020, Perez shocked many when he viciously knocked out top contender Matheus Nicolau in the main event of UFC on ESPN 55 in April. Perez connected with a right hand on the chin that sent the Brazilian straight to the canvas in the second round of their contest.
You can watch Perez’s most recent win in the video above.
Perez (25-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) returns this Saturday in his third fight of 2024. He takes on rising Japanese contender Tatsuro Taira (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) in the headliner of UFC on ESPN 58, which goes down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.
Lucas Almeida hopes to “inspire” younger fighters by showing he can rebound from back-to-back losses at UFC on ESPN 58.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag] enters Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 58 matchup against Timmy Cuamba with back-to-back losses, but he’s ready to change the narrative.
After losing just once in his first 15 professional fights, Almeida (14-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has dropped his past two by stoppage against Andrei Fili and Pat Sabatini. He’s taken time to reflect why he came up short, and is eager to right the ship in a featherweight bout vs. Cuamba (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN2, ESPN+).
“This is new to me,” Almeida told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at Thursday’s media day. “Never in my life, never in my career have I actually had two straight losses. I’m always just racking up consecutive wins, so it was new to me to actually go through that. I had to go through a lot of stuff to understand what’s happening, why that happened and what can be done. That’s the work that you put in.”
For Almeida, 33, it’s important to bounce back to show the younger generation that the lows that come with an MMA career can be overcome.
“You want to show what you’re here for,” Almeida said. “I want to make sure that I inspire people and I show why I’m here to those who look up to me, because I do have people to inspire that look up to me that do it as well. And you want to go back into the win column.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.
Jose Johnson is thinking about UFC titles at flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight – and even lightweight.
LAS VEGAS – Jose Johnson met the media Thursday ahead of his fight at UFC on ESPN 58.
Johnson (16-8 MMA, 1-1 UFC) takes on Asu Almabayev (19-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in his debut at flyweight on the ESPN main card at the UFC Apex. At the event’s media day, Johnson took questions from media members before his fight.
He said his weight cut in his first time out at 125 pounds has been smooth – and he’s already thinking about future titles not just at flyweight, but at bantamweight and featherweight, too.
But of particular interest is Johnson’s revelation that after years struggling with his vision, corrective surgery has him at a level he hasn’t experienced in MMA before.
“When I was 4 years old, I was diagnosed legally blind. It was due to birth issues,” Johnson said. “My eyes have always been my enemy. I could see that of a 78 year old man when I was 5 years old. That’s what my vision was. So I’ve always struggled with that.”
“When I was an amateur and a regional scene pro, I never fought with contacts in and I never had corrective surgery on my eyes. I fought just completely on the distance of my body, hearing footsteps, timing, everything like that. I was like the Daredevil (super hero) of MMA. … For my eyes being worse, it helped me fix my defenses. I had to be more defensively sound. Now I can be more offensively effective with me being able to see what I can.”
And his thoughts of taking out flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja before thinking about Sean O’Malley at bantamweight and Ilia Topuria at featherweight?
“Everyone’s talking to me about flyweight. We’re already talking about featherweight. That’s what we’re already discussing right now: our future plans. We’re going to dominate the 125 division, the 135 division, ’45 – and once I get a little older, if I’m still in this game, we’ll go ’55, too.”
Check out Johnson’s full media day interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.
