This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC Vegas 98, we saw a potential title eliminator in the flyweight division. Undefeated top contender Tatsuro Taira (16-1) was looking to stay undefeated as he took on former title challenger Brandon Royval (17-7).
Throughout Taira’s run inside the octagon, he had used his dominant grappling to really control his opponents. Entering Saturday night, the 24-year-old was an impressive 6-0 inside the octagon and he was looking to secure a title shot against his toughest opponent to date in Brandon Royval.
At times throughout the main event at UFC Vegas 98, you saw why Taira was so special. When he was able to gain control on the ground, his transitions were so smooth and he was able to get the back of Royval. At times, he looked like he was close to getting submissions. However, unlike previous opponents, he couldn’t get the fight down consistently.
Royval kept things standing for the better part of three rounds and during those rounds, he was far superior. Taira landed good shots here and there, but you could tell he just wasn’t at the level of Royval. At the end of the fight, it was close, but I thought it was pretty clearly 3-2 Royval and two of the three judges agreed.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 98?
This is a big learning opportunity for the talented Tatsuro Taira. Again, he’s only 24-years-old and he’s still at the very top of the UFC’s flyweight division. I think he’ll learn from this and he’ll come back even stronger in his next performance. He didn’t drop with the latest rankings update so he’s still ranked fifth.
With that being said, who should he face next? There are several good options, but there are a couple that jump out to me. The UFC returns to Edmonton in a few weeks and the main event features Amir Albazi and Brandon Moreno. Whoever loses that fight could be a great next fight for Taira considering the circumstances.
That said, I could also see the UFC looking at someone like Steve Erceg. Erceg is coming off a brutal knockout loss to Kai Kara-France, but prior to that, he nearly defeated flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja. Matheus Nicolau could also be an option for the Japanese contender.