After dominant win at UFC Vegas 108, what’s next for Tatsuro Taira?

This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Vegas 108, we saw a matchup between two very exciting prospects in the flyweight division. Japan’s Tatsuro Taira (17-1) was looking to bounce back after his first career loss as he took on undefeated prospect Hyun Sung Park (10-1).

Originally, Taira was supposed to face fellow top contender Amir Albazi. However, Albazi wasn’t medically cleared to fight so the UFC pivoted to Park less than a week before the fight. A lot of people were really high on Park and his skills and believed that this could be his moment to leap frog near the top of the division just like Joshua Van recently did.

However, I really thought he was going to be outmatched and didn’t think he had developed enough to take on a guy like Taira and that showed early on. Less than 90 seconds into the bout, Taira’s power was on full display as he dropped Park with a big right hand. In the second round, Taira was able to get to the back and he submitted Park making a big statement to the UFC’s flyweight division.

What’s next after UFC Vegas 108?

I truly believe that Tatsuro Taira is going to be a UFC champion one day. He has all the skills in the world and at just 25-years-old, he’s only going to get better with time. The future at 125 is incredibly exciting when arguably the two most talented top contenders are Taira and Joshua Van who is just 23-years-old and he’s challenging next for the flyweight title.

With this statement win, what should be next for Taira? Prior to the win, Taira took Brandon Royval the distance and lost a very close split decision. Brandon Royval is a problem in a five-round fight and had Joshua Van fought Royval for five rounds instead of three, he might’ve ultimately lost a split decision just like Taira did. That loss is nothing to be ashamed of.

I think that a title eliminator should be next for Taira and I think there’s one man who is the perfect opponent. That opponent should be former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno. Moreno is coming off back-to-back wins over Steve Erceg and Amir Albazi. The UFC should pair up Taira and Moreno on the same card as Pantoja – Van with the winner being lined up to face the champion.