Tatsuro Taira wished to ensure to point out that rising star Joshua Van isn’t the one spectacular younger expertise within the flyweight division, and he did so on Saturday evening by working by South Korean prospect HyunSung Park to shut out the evening on the UFC APEX.
Taira suffered the primary lack of his profession final October in a aggressive five-round bout with former title challenger Brandon Royval, however he put himself again within the win column in a rush in opposition to Park. The Japanese standout dropped his foe with successive clear proper fingers within the first spherical, utilizing the knockdown to create an opportunity to dominate on the bottom for the rest of the body. He took Park to the canvas instantly to begin the second, and wasted no time working to the again, the place Taira arrange a face crank that was too tight for Park to endure.
Whereas Van has stormed into the highlight during the last yr, establishing himself because the No. 1 contender with a pair of pay-per-view wins in June, the 25-year-old Taira confirmed on Saturday that he’s very a lot within the championship combine. This was a one-sided drubbing in opposition to a beforehand unbeaten expertise, and places him within the combine for an enormous combat subsequent day out.
Rebooking him reverse his initially scheduled opponent Amir Albazi might work, however with former champ Brandon Moreno needing an opponent, might we see Taira standing reverse “The Murderer Child” earlier than the yr is out?
Superior evening for the Argentines
Each Kevin Vallejos and Esteban Ribovics earned hard-fought determination wins on what was a really particular evening for the UFC’s Argentinian contingent.
The 23-year-old Vallejos showcased why many view him as one of many prime prospects on the roster, incomes a clear sweep of the scorecards in a troublesome battle with fellow Dana White’s Contender Collection grad Danny Silva. It was simply probably the most aggressive bout the younger Argentine has been in since his loss to Jean Silva in his first look on the UFC APEX throughout Season 7 of the annual talent-search collection, however confirmed Vallejos has the grit and tenacity wanted to thrive, along with brandishing a strong offensive arsenal.
Later in the principle card, Ribovics continued displaying he’s assured pleasure each day out by battering sturdy Brazilian Elves Brener over three rounds.
For the third straight combat, “El Gringo” fortunately engaged in a Battle of the Night time-style conflict, urgent ahead and throwing heaps of offence at Brener, who responded in form as greatest he might. Ribovics did nicely to constantly throw combos, and blend issues up properly, sprinkling in kicks and altering his targets all through.
Along with the countryman going 2-0 on the night, Saturday was an additional cool second for the proud South Individuals, as all 5 Argentinian fighters on the roster have been in attendance. Francisco Prado was in Ribovics’ nook, Ailin Perez was within the crowd, supporting her compatriots, and Santiago Ponzinibbio was on the Spanish broadcast. Each Vallejos and Ribovics spoke earlier within the week about Ponzinibbio’s affect, what it might imply to them to earn a pair of wins on the night, and what sort of celebration it might arrange for Sunday.
With each claiming high quality wins, the asado must be excellent.
Rising abilities shine on the prelims
The three most promising names on the preliminary card slate all picked up high quality wins on Saturday, with two of the three dealing with their enterprise in lower than a spherical.
Undefeated Brazilian flyweight Rafael Estevam maintained the zero in his loss column with a unanimous determination win over compatriot Felipe Bunes. After Bunes had success within the first, Estevam took over, using his superior grappling to dictate the phrases of engagement and totally out-work his countryman over the ultimate 10 minutes.
Now 14-0, along with his final three wins coming underneath the UFC banner, Estevam must be one to observe going ahead within the 125-pound weight class, however he missed weight by a substantial margin for this one — the second time in three fights that he’s missed the mark on the dimensions — which is assured to gradual his ascent, and will finally pressure a transfer to bantamweight sooner or later.
Within the subsequent combat, extremely regarded featherweight Austin Bashi made his second trek into the Octagon and made fast work of short-notice substitute John Yannis, closing the gap shortly, and wrapping up a rear-naked choke ending in lower than 4 minutes. The Michigan native was thrown into the deep finish in his debut, which he misplaced to skilled Roufusport consultant Christian Rodriguez, however dealt with this late swap with aplomb, blowing by Yannis within the method most anticipated.
And within the closing bout of the prelims, Rinya Nakamura wasted no time getting himself again into the win column, after struggling the primary lack of his profession in January, by stopping Nathan Fletcher with a well-placed entrance kick to the liver.
“Hybrid” was bounced from the ranks of the unbeaten at UFC 311 by Muin Gafarov, however he made fast work of Fletcher to choose up his tenth profession win on Saturday. He dug his toes into the Brit’s midsection lower than a minute into the combat, and pounced as quickly because the delayed-reaction distress set in for Fletcher, formally wrapping issues up in 62 seconds.
Playing cards like this steadily provide alternatives for rising names to assert a bigger share of the highlight than in the event that they have been positioned on pay-per-view playing cards and these three males all made positive to do their greatest to do this on Saturday. All three are rightfully considered sturdy prospects of their respective divisions, and it’ll be fascinating to see how the UFC opts to e book every of them going ahead given their sturdy performances this weekend.
Chris Duncan is a canine. “The Downside” navigated a rugged opening body the place he obtained staggered and stung by Mateusz Rebecki to earn a unanimous determination win over the gifted Polish light-weight in a bloody battle of attrition. The Dana White’s Contender Collection grad has now gained three straight and 5 of six general in his UFC profession, establishing himself as a constantly entertaining and harmful competitor alongside the best way.
Karol Rosa has now gone 9 consecutive fights with out consecutive wins or losses, because the Brazilian posted a unanimous determination win over Nora Cornolle halfway by the principle card. A rankings mainstay for the overwhelming majority of her profession, Rosa is locked in as a troublesome out and strong all-around expertise in the course of the ladies’s bantamweight division, and if she might ever discover some offensive consistency, she might climb the ranks comparatively shortly.
Shouts to Neil Magny for persevering with so as to add to his document variety of wins within the welterweight division. The tenured veteran rallied to gather a second-round stoppage win over Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on Saturday, kicking off the ending push with a pair of knees to the pinnacle earlier than dragging the combat to the canvas and ending issues there.
Now in his thirteenth yr on the roster, Magny, who turns 39 on Sunday, stays a troublesome out and recreation opponent for anybody within the 170-pound weight class. We seldom speak sufficient about how troublesome it’s to stay on the UFC roster for 10-plus years, and Magny’s longevity and continued competitiveness each should be praised.
Rodolfo Vieira showcased improved putting and conditioning in getting again into the win column with a unanimous determination win over Tresean Gore. A multiple-time Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion, Vieira couldn’t get the combat to the canvas, however nonetheless had constant success, out-landing Gore in all three rounds whereas continuously pressuring ahead to get himself again within the win column.
Very strong second-round end for Andrey Pulyaev over fellow DWCS Class of ’24 grad Nick Klein. The Russian admitted to being just a little hesitant and anxious in his promotional debut earlier this yr, however confirmed way more consolation in his sophomore outing, folding Klein over with a kick to the physique that kicked off the ending sequence.
Within the opener, Piera Rodriguez picked up her second straight win, out-hustling Ketlen Souza over three rounds. A graduate of Season 5 of Dana White’s Contender Collection, “La Fiera” labored behind a strong jab and robust grappling that allowed her to place Souza on the deck a number of instances over, which largely neutralized her heavy putting.
