Tatsuro Taira heads into UFC 328 this Saturday with a UFC flyweight title on the line and an eye on an even bigger future.
Taira challenges champion Joshua Van after their matchup was delayed when Van suffered a minor injury. The Japanese contender extended his training camp in the United States while waiting for the rescheduled title fight.
Breaking down the man he’s chasing, Taira said, "Joshua Van, his strength is definitely his striking and his toughness," and added, "He’s actually younger than me and just looking back at how he got in that position, everything was so quick. Everything happened like boom and now he’s a champ. I’m just looking forward to this fight and facing him in the octagon and seeing what kind of fight he’s going to give me."
Van captured the flyweight belt at UFC 323 after Alexandre Pantoja suffered a freak injury 26 seconds into their fight. Taira believes Pantoja is first in line for a title shot when he returns and said, "Yes, I’m ready [for Pantoja]," calling him "definitely a legendary champ" while noting the division now features "a completely new [group of ranked fighters] at flyweight."
Looking beyond UFC 328, Taira is already thinking about defending the belt in his home country. "What comes first would be going against Pantoja and beating him. But another dream I would say is to have a big fight in Japan," he said, adding, "I definitely want to fight against Kyoji Horiguchi," and calling that matchup "the biggest fight and the biggest card in the biggest arena possible."
