Joshua Van closed the show late and kept his belt, stopping Tatsuro Taira by TKO in the fifth round to retain his flyweight title at UFC 328.
Van finished the fight at 1:32 of the final frame, with referee Vitor Ribeiro stepping in after Van dropped Taira with strikes in their flyweight championship bout.
“It feels damn good to be the champion again,” Van said after the win. He added, “I said I was going to finish him inside three rounds and I almost did but he’s a tough motherf*cker. As soon as I got to the body, it was over. Shout out to Tatsuro, the Japanese fans and we can’t forget the Burmese fans.”
Taira repeatedly took Van down and controlled him on the ground early, but Van did significant damage with his jab and right hand as the fight wore on, repeatedly hurting and knocking Taira down before the final stoppage.
Van then turned his attention to Alexandre Pantoja, referencing their previous bout that ended due to a freak injury in December. “Pantoja, you better get your shit right,” Van said. “We can run it back if you want.”
